Deja Vu
by Lady Kathryne
Summary: Bella returns home from a trip just in time to meet her new neighbor. She's just getting over a bad breakup as well as just starting her career. Can it work between the two when it comes out that her neighbor is her brother's best friend? Are sparks gonna fly or is the relationship gonna fade before it has a chance. AU, AH, language and themes.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners- namely Stephanie Myers… lucky, lucky woman. Everything else came from my own mind- scary as it is sometimes.

**Authors Notes:**

Ages are mixed up, but who cares. I made them older. And yes, they still look like gods among men, they just have to work for those muscles. And, while they don't live ON the reservation anymore, they're still all a part of the same tribe; they just all ran in different circles of friends with a couple overlaps here and there.

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Prologue

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(March)

Bella Swan was many things; smart, laid back, a little on the shy side when meeting new people, loyal and witty. A glutton for punishment was on the top of the list though as she thought of her recent and horrible break up it seemed. The last four years reran on a never ending loop in her mind as she slept fitfully in the patio chair on the back porch of her mothers beach house. The bright Florida sunshine had been doing wonders to raise her spirits for the last four days; if only she could steal the sunshine and take it back with her somehow she mused she might be that much happier when she went home.

The breeze from the Gulf of Mexico wafted lazily up the Caspersen beach to her greedy lungs. She inhaled the salty sea air deeply as she woke from her nap, allowing its calming scent to wash over her body. She sighed and stretched languidly, trying and failing to shake the negative thoughts from her mind as she was roused from the fogginess of sleep by a woman's quiet chuckle.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, baby girl." An amused voice said from beside her.

"Thanks mom. How long was I asleep for?" She asked.

"You've only been asleep for about two hours. It's just past six or so now. I think that's the longest nap you've had since you got here four days ago." Came the easy answer.

Bella grinned at her mom, but chose not to agree or disagree for that matter- she'd never win in an argument against the woman anyways. "What's that?" She wondered when a tumbler of clear liquid was passed in her direction.

Renee only chuckled. "Ever the cautious one. It's a vodka tumbler. Live a little. You're already in the bikini you swore I'd never get you to wear. And the cut offs make your legs stand out a mile." She said motioning to her extremely short cut off jeans. "What's the worst that could happen?" She teased.

Bella slid her sunglasses on top of her head and leveled the woman with an arched eyebrow and a pointed stare. "Really mom? You just want me drunk so I'll cry to you again." She huffed playfully, taking the glass none the less. She was thankful they were in the shade now, otherwise she was sure the sun would have blinded her. Washington state was good for many things, having sun this bright wasn't one of them.

"You won't do it otherwise. Bottling emotions up is DEFINITELY not good for your aura." Renee fussed. "And yours needs work sweetie. So much negativity. No WONDER you're so upset over a boy." She added.

Bella sighed and shook her head. She had already said she didn't want to talk about Edward Cullen again. It was something her mother was having a hard time understanding the reasons for, due in part that Bella didn't go into too much detail about what caused them to part ways.

A soft sigh to her left alerted her to the presence of her step dad, Phil. He merely shrugged and rolled his eyes. She grinned at him to show him she wasn't really mad. It was, after all, her last night staying with them. Her week was close to being up as Spring break drew to a close. She had just enough time to see her dad and her uncle too over the coming weekend.

"I wish you were staying longer, Bella. I don't like that you'll be going back to a home where you were hurt so deeply. It doesn't do well for your health to dwell in that miserable place." Renee pouted.

"I actually agree somewhat. Florida sun has done wonders for you. You don't look so much like a pale face anymore." Phil teased. "You've got a tan now." He added with a playful grin. Bella had spent a week in the sun, her naturally light skin going a shade darker than before thanks to the time spent on the beach.

Bella laughed at that. "That's enough you two. I'll be alright. The friend I let live in my apartment after I moved in with Edward is moving out. Now that we've broken up, I can move back into my apartment and not have to deal with any really painful reminders. Besides, I promised dad and uncle Billy I'd visit them too you know. I don't get out to the reservation all that often anymore and Jake and the guys are hounding me to come see them." She admitted sadly.

"At least you have somewhere to go where you can heal. I'm only sorry that something like that had to happen to someone as wonderful as my little girl." Renee said solemnly.

Bella smiled. "Thanks mom. You know me, I bounce back. I'll be fine in no time. I have my kids to keep me on my toes." She grinned thinking of her second grade class.

"So why haven't you been on the rez in so long? You're always telling us how much you love it there. Did something happen?" Phil wondered after a moment of silence.

"I've been really busy. I have a class all to myself this year now that I'm not just a student teacher anymore, and between lesson plans and papers to grade… there's so little time for much else. I haven't gotten to see a whole lot of anyone since school started. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again. Especially Paul. He's been going on and on about how he wants to use Edward for a punching bag. I need to calm him down soon. He'd probably actually follow through with it and leave Sam to run their shop all on his own while he sits in jail." Bella sighed.

Phil chuckled along with Renee. "It's his right as an older brother." Phil teased. "And I don't think he'd leave his business. Charlie has told us its like his baby." He added with a grin.

It amazed her how well all her parents got along- real parents and step parents alike. Oh well, opposites attract, she mused before what her step dad said sunk in. "Hey! He's only older by eight months!" She huffed.

Phil laughed. "It took you long enough to pick up on that." He teased.

"Just because he could rival the jolly green giant in height and muscle mass doesn't mean he gets to pull the older brother card every time I go through a bad break up. Good lord its bad enough he and Jake put the fear of god into any guy who liked me while we were all in school!" She grizzled.

Renee laughed. "Oh honey… I completely understand. You're uncle Billy used to swear he'd kill any man who even looked at me funny when we were teenagers. And there's a little over two years between us. You just have to remind him that you can take care of yourself and hope he can understand. And if not, at least he cares enough to want to be your protector. Some step siblings never get along, no matter how old they are." She reminded her gently.

Bella smiled. "I know. Believe me I'm grateful. And Paul is only my step brother in title. That boy is my brother, no other way about it. I really do love him, no matter how much he annoys me with the protectiveness. And besides, I'll get a chance to pester Jake, Quil and Embry too." She grinned.

Renee sighed and shook her head in amusement. "Billy tells me Jake's in his last year of college now. Or will be this coming fall. He's so proud of him. Sarah would be too." Her smile faltered as she thought of her sister in law. "I know I am." She finally said.

She didn't want to admit that Sarah's death still bothered her. The driver who had hit her and her brother had never been caught- because of him, Sarah was dead, and Billy was paralyzed from the waist down, doomed to life as a widowed father in a wheel chair. It just didn't seem fair sometimes. The pain was still raw in her mind after all these years.

"Aunt Sarah is in a better place mom. Don't get sad on me. We both know she's at peace and she's watching over her family still." Bella's smile was sweet as she grasped her mothers hand in hers. "She blessed Uncle Billy with the strength of character to look after his family even after she left him on his own. He's blessed with her love and the love of all of us."

Phil was out of his element for a moment. He respected Renee's heritage and never made it seem like he wanted her to deny any part of her for him. He just didn't understand it sometimes. To him, if a person died, they were dead. To Renee and Bella, when a person died, their souls became protectors… spirits to guide the ones they loved and keep them from straying down the wrong path. He smiled when the girls turned their eyes on him.

"It's getting late. What do we say to dinner and then we can watch the sun set?" Phil asked, clearing his throat some.

Bella giggled. "Sure, sure. That actually sounds good."

Fifteen minutes later and the three sat down at the patio table with plates full of hamburgers, potato salad, coleslaw and drinks. When they were finished eating, they lapsed into a comfortable silence and lazed about, waiting to watch the sun set over the water. Her vacation had been spent trying to forget the image of her ex boyfriend, Edward Cullen with some other woman in their bed- a partner in his dad's law firm no less.

Four years. It was what she had given him. Four years of unwavering commitment. He had been everything to her. Her first kiss, her first love, she had even given him her virginity. In return, he had taken her will to live on her own away- or so it seemed.

Coming to see her mother had been the first step in learning she could live on her own again. Florida had been cathartic for her. She was finally breathing easier. And now that she was going to visit her dad in the place she grew up- her home- it would be that much better.

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Bella sighed and breathed in the familiar, rich and heady aroma of the Washington air as she stepped out of the airport. True to his word, there was her dad waiting with a gentle smile gracing his lips, leaning against the door of his personal vehicle- An older model, black four door SUV with tinted windows. Thankfully it wasn't his patrol car. She grinned and waved her hand almost shyly in front of her as she made her way towards him with her luggage rolling easily behind her.

Charlie smiled. "Hey Bells. Have a good trip?" He asked casually.

"Mom is mom. And Phil calms mom down. So yeah. It was alright. She sends her well wishes and wants me to tell you to have a space ready for Christmas. I guess Phil is getting some time off so he'll get to stay too." She parroted with a shrug.

Charlie grinned. "You sound so enthused." He teased when she rolled her eyes before climbing into the passenger seat.

"It's mom. We all know I'm more like you than she'd care to admit. But I love her all the same." She offered her explanation when he climbed into his seat. "Besides…. Florida is WAY too hot. And she wanted me to move in near them." She shuddered.

It was Charlie's turn to roll his eyes. "She wants us all closer but she refuses to come back here. I guess she's afraid Phil will like it too much huh." He had never really gotten over their divorce, even if they did end it on amicable terms.

Bella smiled. "You two were really better off as friends you know." She told him wisely. "I remember the fighting. So does Uncle Billy for that matter." She snickered.

"To hear him talk, I'm the abused party in the relationship. Sheesh. The man is my best friend, but he loves riling his baby sister up too much. And yes, I know. We're better off as friends. I still miss her a little though. Don't get me wrong, I love Hailey- couldn't picture a life without her- but you never forget your first love." He offered.

"You don't have to explain it dad, I know. As bad as it sounds, I don't know if I'll ever really forget Edward. I still really hate him right now though." She sighed.

Charlie tutted and pulled onto the highway. "There's a long line of men who want to talk to that boy. I hope you know that. I've had no less than all six of your boys tell me they're after his head if they see him anytime soon." He grinned.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Dad, please, they're not MY boys. They're friends. I can claim Jake and Paul as family. The rest are just good friends."

"Tell that to Sam, Embry, Quil and Seth. They've all told me they're more than happy to have a sit down talk with your ex. Even Collin and Brady want to talk to him. And when they're all together, things get interesting. I never knew there that many ways to feed a body through a meat grinder." He teased.

"Dad… that's really kind of gross." She said watching him from the corner of her eye.

Charlie shrugged. "Your boys. You talk to 'em." He grinned.

She sighed. He'd done this to her since she started middle school. Bella only had one female friend at the time and that had been Leah Clearwater. The rest were boys and while it worried Charlie to no end, he never passed up an opportunity to tease her mercilessly about it.

The rest of the ride was met in companionable silence as the radio played gently in the background. Before she knew it, Bella was being gently shaken awake and told they had made it to her uncles house. She grinned and pulled her carry on bag from the back seat. The rest of her luggage was left in her dad's trunk to be transferred to her car later on when he took her to his house to say hello to Hailey.

She snickered at the sight that greeted her after walking through the front door. "Well, well, well. Aren't you three just the laziest things I've ever seen. It's a wonder you're passing your classes with such good grades." She playfully scolded.

Jacob, Embry and Quil all turned their heads at the same time. Bella watched in amusement as identical grins spread across their faces. They jumped up from the couch as one and rushed to her.

"BELLA!" They all shouted before she was engulfed in the arms of three of her best friends.

She giggled and hugged them back tightly. "Hey boys."

"Not boys anymore, Bells. We're grown up- remember?" Embry teased.

"You sure? You're looking a little weak Em." She teased back.

"She's got you pegged Embry." Quil crowed.

Bella smirked. "Don't you mean your girlfriend has YOU pegged Quil." She snickered when he stared open mouthed at the audacity that she would ever insinuate something like that.

Jacob shook his head. "Wow… just wow. Being in Florida was good for you Bells. You're starting to shine again." He commented.

She grinned. "Aww thanks Jakey." She blew a kiss at him before running over to hide behind Billy.

Billy and Charlie laughed and shook their heads. "They'll never grow up." Billy muttered.

Bella leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I love you too Uncle Billy." She grinned.

"Yes, well… we'll have to talk tomorrow. I want to hear how that man is treating my baby sister." He told her sternly.

Bella snickered. "That MAN has been married to your baby sister for at LEAST ten years now. You didn't give my dad such a hard time, why do you have to do it to Phil, uncle Billy?" She teased.

"Because your dad got abused if he toed the line. I know nothing about the man who took my baby sister from the rez." He sniffed.

Jacob, Quil, Embry and Bella rolled their eyes. "She's fine. You'll see her at Christmas. And she's bringing her HUSBAND with her." She soothed him.

"Right. Well… Bella, we have to go get Harry's house. And we'll talk later, ok?" Billy cleared his throat and Charlie quickly agreed.

"You're not going to stay?" She wondered with an arched eyebrow.

"Uh… no… not tonight baby girl. The boys wanted to spend some time with you and we have some… things to do…take care of… um… we'll talk soon though. Tomorrow even… Bye." Charlie said before wheeling Billy from the house in a hurry.

She shook her head and shared at the screen door in brief confusion. "Our parents are so weird." Bella mused.

Jacob agreed with a nod of his head. "You know they're only rushing off to Harry's because he got a brand new big screen TV. Sue is up at the Makah reservation visiting family so they have free reign tonight."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I've come in second place to a baseball game on a big screen TV." She sighed dramatically.

"Nah, Bells. You still have us!" Embry grinned.

"Yippee." She dead panned. She fought the twitch in her lip to keep the smile from breaking free.

Jacob grinned and decided to change the subject. "So… Bella… Edward left you…" He said putting an arm around her shoulders. He started to guide her to the couch while she was still slightly distracted.

"Broke your heart…" Embry's grin was feral as he nodded matter of factually.

"And now, we get to kick his ass, right?" Quil's grin mimicked those of his two best friends.

Bella only rolled her eyes. "Oh lord, you three, grow the hell up. I swear, you're worse than Seth, Collin and Brady. I did my crying over him while I was with my mom. I'm here to relax before I go back home and finish out the school year."

"Man, I would have loved to have a teacher like you! Bet you've got all the lil brats giving you flowers and gifts, huh Bells." Quil grinned.

Bella shook her head. "Oh yes… because second graders think the way a 24 year old man would. Then again, I guess you're still mentally around nine or ten, huh Quil." She teased.

"HEY!" Quil pouted while Jacob and Embry roared with laughter.

A throat clearing in the doorway caused the laughter to die down a little. "And just what is so funny?"

"PAULIE! SAMMY!" Bella squealed. She jumped up from the couch and rushed over to them giving each one a huge hug.

Paul grinned and lifted his sister off of her feet. "Hey Lil' B. we missed you around here." It was hard to tell they were just step siblings. They had been a family since they were both just six years old. Twenty years was a long time to not think of someone as true family for Bella. It had only taken her a year to call Paul's mom, mom. From then on, Paul called Bella his sister. Any time they introduced one another to a new friend, it was as a brother or sister, never a step sibling.

"Guys, you two especially, get to see me anytime you want. Your shop is a few blocks away from my apartment building." She chided.

Sam grinned. "Yeah, but it's not the same. You're here… back home… where we all grew up. Come on now. You know you're missed around here."

"Yeah, Bella you could have come back to teach on the rez!" Embry grizzled only being somewhat serious.

Bella rolled her eyes and looked to her cousin. "What about you Jakey? You think I should have stayed here too?"

Jacob shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it'd be cool to see you more. But you're happy where you are. I'm not gonna begrudge you that." He grinned at her.

Bella simply smiled. This was why she loved the men in her family. They may not agree with everything she did, but they still supported her no matter what. Paul huffed. Bella could tell he was trying to hide his smile and she giggled and poked him in the ribs.

"Just so you know, the guys and I talked about it. If we ever see Edward near you again, we'll more than likely be in jail for a long time for murder. That thing doesn't deserve you." Paul muttered as he hugged her to him again.

"Never DID deserve you." Sam added.

Bella giggled. "Come on now… you guys must have liked something about him. You all didn't say anything when we first started dating in college." She mused. "None of you did for that matter." She huffed.

"Bells…you were 22. What did you want us to say?" Sam grinned.

She shrugged. "So where are Seth, Collin and Brady?" She asked, effectively changing the subject. Sam only chuckled.

Jacob snorted. "They're working."

"Seth is a bouncer over at Clarkes. And Collin and Brady are bartenders." Embry told her when he saw her confused frown.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "You guys feel like going out tonight?" She grinned.

"Always. Man, Bella. It's good to have you back." Jacob laughed.

"You guys know you can always come see me too." She huffed while trying to hide her grin.

Quil laughed. "Where's the fun in that? We'd never get to harass you when you DO come home! Besides, we get to have more fun this way… you come home, we go out places… we're not so bored…right?"

"Oh Quil. You have so much to learn." She teased. "Give me ten minutes to change and I'll be ready to go."

An hour later saw Bella laughing and playing pool with her friends and family. Even Brady and Collin took their breaks with her in order to catch up. She promised them she'd visit more if she could and laughed when they nodded their heads and warned her to 'see that she did or else'. Her heart may have still been broken, but her family had rallied around her and together with the help of her friends, she was starting to realize that she was stronger than Edward thought she was. She was going to get through it and come out stronger on the other side.


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:**

Bella is NOT the same meek little klutz in this that she is in the books. Yes, she's upset after her break up with Edward. No she is NOT going to wallow. She has a job and she teaches kids… lets face it… kids don't let you stay sad. Their too funny for that.

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Chapter 1

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(March/April)

Spring Break had passed in the blink of an eye for Bella, or so it seemed. She sighed and shut the engine in her car off before making her way into the main office of her apartment building. She needed to let the receptionist know she was back and pick up any papers she had waiting- as per the agreement she had signed when she first moved in. She arched an eyebrow when she noticed an older woman sitting behind the desk.

"Hello. Are you here to look for an apartment?" The woman asked kindly.

"Oh, no… um, I live in apartment 4D. My name is Bella Swan. My room mate was supposed to leave her key here. She moved out this past weekend and I was on vacation. I also wanted to see if there was anything else I needed to pay. I got the electric bill all paid before I left." She said with a small smile.

A few minutes of tapping on the keyboard in front of her and the receptionist gave her attention back to Bella again. "Nope, it looks like you're all set until the end of this month when the rent is due. Was there anything else I could help you with?" She asked handing over the spare apartment key.

"Um… not to be rude, but what happened with Samantha?" Bella's curiosity was getting the best of her.

"I'm sorry dear, she had to move home. Her mother took ill and she left to be closer. From what I was told, it's looking bad for the woman. The poor dear left just last week. I'm her replacement so you'll be seeing me from now on." The woman said with a toothy smile.

"Oh. That's bad luck for Samantha. Well, thanks." Bella said with a small wave. She left the office and got back in her car before driving towards the back of the building to park. She made her way inside and took the stairs up to the fourth floor. She really hated using the elevator. She had gotten stuck in it twice and had been leery of the thing ever since.

"Hey! Hey, wait! 4D, wait up." A masculine voice said from close behind her.

Bella turned to stare at a tanned, brown haired god of a man walking up to her. She blinked in confusion when he stood before her wondering where she'd seen his face before. It was the strangest feeling- almost like she knew him from somewhere.

"C-Can I help you with something…?" Images of just what she could help him with flashed in her mind before she had a chance to stop them. She quickly ended them, filing them away for later and turned her attention back to him.

"Hi uh… I think I have some of your mail. I guess the mail carrier doesn't really pay close attention. Your room mate said you'd be back today… so I could give it to you from now on." He said running his hand over the back of his tattooed neck. His left eyebrow was pierced and when he moved to wet his lips, Bella noticed his tongue was pierced as well.

She took in the rest of his features- his brown hair, his green eyes, the lip piercing in the left corner of his bottom and very kissable plump lip, as well as the tattoos on his arms and the one of a barbed wire band on his right thumb. She smiled.

"Thanks. I'll have to make sure to ask her to pay closer attention to detail. I think she may be a little flaky. I'll also talk to the receptionist and see if she can ask her to maybe be a little more mindful. I just got through meeting her… she's definitely not Samantha, am I right?"

"Um… who? Sorry, I just moved in a few days ago." He told her with an impish grin.

Bella laughed lightly. "Samantha was the receptionist before the one in the office now. She was here up until a week ago I guess. That woman was a saint! I've yet to pass judgment on the new receptionists skills though.." She offered with a light shrug.

"Cool, so… it's a pretty decent place then?" He wondered.

He took in her appearance- heeled black leather boots, form fitting blue jeans, baby blue sweater top that showed off her curves in a classy yet casual way, braided auburn hair and finally her soulful chocolate brown eyes. He almost missed what she was saying as he appraised her form.

"It's pretty quiet around here normally. Unless there's a holiday or something. The people are great too. I've been here off and on for about four years now, so I can kind of vouch for it." She added playfully.

He laughed at that. "Well I guess that's better than I could hope for. My last place in Seattle was a mess. I moved here to be closer to work and friends."

Bella smiled. She huffed when she heard her phone start ringing. "That's me. It's probably my boss or my best friend. Thanks for the mail." She said waving at him.

"Cool… um… I'll see you around I guess." He grinned.

"Sure… see you." She said closing the door when he turned to leave. She never noticed him turn around to tell her his name before the door closed. He merely shrugged and headed back to his apartment hoping he'd run into her again.

Bella rushed to the phone just in time for the answering machine to click over. She rolled her eyes when her best friends voice was heard on the other end. Leah Clearwater was a force to be reckoned with. It just so happened that Leah was also dating her brother- Paul. They had been together since they were 18. Bella smiled when she heard Leah threaten bodily harm if Bella didn't call her back. She could only sigh.

_ "It's about time you called me back! When did you get home?! Your roomie said you were supposed to be home an hour and half ago!"_

"I just walked in. well, I would have been in when I heard you call, but… I got held up." Bella said biting her bottom lip.

_ "By what?!" _Leah demanded.

"The new neighbor. He had some of my mail mixed up with his. Leah… he's GORGEOUS!"

Leah laughed_. "Isabella Marie Swan! Listen to you! You only JUST broke up with the coppertop jackass!" _She pretended to be horrified. The act was lost when she began laughing hysterically.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up you bitch. You know damn good and well that I'm not ready to move right into another relationship. I AM however, allowed to look. And from what I see… I like… a lot."

_ "So does he have a name? Or are you just going to call him 'the neighbor' from now on?"_

Bella rolled her eyes. "No, I'll call him 4B until I learn his name, if it's all the same to you!" She sniffed primly.

Their banter went back and forth until Leah told her that her break was over and she had to go. Being an accountant and business manager was hard work or so Leah griped. Bella countered her complaint with the fact that Leah was able to take as many breaks as she wanted and was able to goof off on the phone so long as she got her work done. Being a teacher left her little to no time to socialize for almost eight hours straight- unless it was in the teachers lounge in the morning or for their lunch break.

That got Leah off the phone. She hated to hear about the 'little brats' that Bella had in her classroom. Leah wanted kids- one day. She wanted to see her business take off and able to stand alone before she'd get them though. And Paul was the same way. He had a fledgling business now with his best friend Sam and Sam's good friend Jared. They both had the sense to know that it just wasn't the right time. Bella agreed. So she lived vicariously through her kids' parents and nurtured the minds of a class of 18 second grade students until the school year was out.

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Bella gasped and jolted awake and looked wildly around her as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She inhaled deeply, allowing herself to calm down after realizing she was still only in her bed. She had woken from yet another dream of tall, dark, handsome and totally doable- none other than 4B as she had taken to calling her god of a neighbor. She had still not bothered to learn his name and he had been in the building for three weeks now. Three weeks and ever since their first meeting, she'd been dreaming of doing every sinful, pleasurable thing known to man to and WITH her neighbor. 'Talk about frustrating', she mused as she fell back against her mattress with a flop.

She looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand and groaned. The bright blue numbers told her it was ONLY four in the morning. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Over a month had passed since she had ended her relationship with Edward. Over a month of not getting laid. There was only so much her various toys could take before she broke down and told Leah and Emily she was going to have a one night stand with the first decent looking man to catch her eye in the bar they went to every Friday night.

She looked back at the clock. 4:05. Ugh, it was going to be one of those days. She thanked the spirits above that it was a Saturday. Since she couldn't go back to sleep, Bella got up, was dressed, had her bed made and a load of laundry in the basket ready to go once the laundry room was opened at 8 AM. She was in her small kitchen cooking a meager breakfast of eggs and hash browns when she heard a door open and then close a few minutes later.

Looking at the clock on the stove she noticed it was nearing six in the morning. Who of her neighbors did she know who was up at six AM on a Saturday? It was blasphemy in her opinion. She looked through her peep hole and groaned quietly. There before her in the hall way was none other than Mr. 4B himself, sans shirt, wearing a pair of low slung track pants and a running shoes. His back was covered in various tattoos- dragons, various animals, even a skeleton or two- and when he turned to make his way to the elevator she nearly died. His left nipple was pierced- something she secretly found attractive on men. She was more turned on now than she had been before she'd gone to sleep.

Bella was panting by the time he disappeared behind the elevator doors. It took all the will power she possessed to not race down the hall to the bedroom and pull out every toy she possessed- it was quite a few no thanks to Leah and Emily giving her gag gifts for her birthdays and at Christmas time. It was not looking like it was going to be a fun day for her. With another sigh, she plopped down on her couch and turned the TV on, intent to find a movie that would take her mind off of her fuck hot neighbor.

By the time 8AM rolled around, Bella was making her way down the stairs with a laundry bag slung over her shoulder. She never noticed that the star of all her recent wet dreams himself had the same idea as she did as he made his way off the elevator at the same time she reached the bottom floor of the stairs. They arrived in the laundry room at the same time, nearly bumping into one another.

"Oh, hey, it's you." He teased.

"It's me." She echoed with a half smile. Lack of sleep coupled with her neighbor in such close proximity left her oxygen deprived brain without much to say.

He shook his head in amusement giving her a charming and rather boyish grin. "You're not a morning person are you?"

Bella smiled and turned her head slightly to avoid him seeing the blush that colored her face briefly. "I didn't sleep well last night. Coffee keeps me sane. That's about all I can say." She joked. "Besides, aren't most people meant to sleep IN on weekends?"

His laughter filled the room. "I'll give you that. You know, it's kind of refreshing to hear someone with a sense of humor. And that's saying something considering I work with a few of my best friends all day long."

Bella arched an eyebrow. "Your friends don't have a sense of humor?" She teased.

"Not, it's not that. I work in a tattoo shop.. So I get to meet all kinds of people. But… a lot of them don't really want to joke too much when I'm prodding at them with needles for hours at a time sometimes." He chuckled.

"Well that explains it then." Bella mused with a small smirk on her lips.

"Explains what?" He wondered, his frown more curious than upset.

"Your thumb… and the sleeve…. The pieces on your back too." Bella grinned. "My brother works at a tattoo shop. He's covered in tattoos. Nearly gave his mom a heart attack when she saw him at Christmas time." She snickered at the memory of Hailey sighing in defeat.

"Is that why you have that tat on your wrist?" He wondered.

Bella shook her head looking to the tribal band around her wrist. "No… it covers an unseemly scar I got from a car accident when I was in high school. I got this done when I was 16."

"Damn, sorry. I would have never guessed. I didn't mean to pry, I guess I just assumed he did it for you. It's really nicely done though."

She shrugged. "No biggy. I just got tired of people asking me if I was suicidal. No one really asks anymore because they can't see the scar."

"I can see how that would be an aggravation. And a reason to get it covered over." He agreed. "Why the tribal band though?"

Bella grinned. "I've always loved tribal tattoos. I don't know why, but some of them are just so… sexy." She mused. She turned her attention to her watch and missed the shiver that raced down his back. He liked how she had eyed the few tribal pieces she could see on his arms.

The buzzing of washers pulled them from their jovial bubble causing them to both jump. They went about loading their clothes into the dryers before sitting down at the provided table to wait some more. Bella grinned and pulled a sketch book from her bag. She caught his surprise.

"You can draw?" He wondered a little too excited as he tried to hide it from her.

"I'm alright. My brother is ten times better." She said with a blush.

He grinned and wondered if maybe she'd let him catch a glimpse of how she saw the world. "May I?"

Her book was handed gently to him. Each piece was looked over with the critical eye of an artist. His thoughts were on Paul and Sam and how they would love some of her work for the shop. They were amazing, and the detail was uniquely hers alone. It seemed she had no preference and just drew whatever caught her fancy. Still life, people, animals- though how she got them to sit still was a mystery- and even some fantasy work. He thought the fairy she drew that was dated last week would look awesome as a tattoo.

"These are amazing. I can't believe your not drawing professionally." He told her when the book was handed back over.

"No… I work with kids for a living. This is to help me relax." She teased.

"Wow, I don't think I'd have the patience for all of that. Working with the public is bad enough sometimes… people can be… amazing pricks I guess would be the right thing to say. But I honestly don't have the patience for minors… well strangers' kids at least." He shuddered.

Bella laughed. "Kids aren't that bad. There can be a few bad ones to the bunch, but I love what I do." She told him honestly.

It was official. Mr. 4B himself was growing on her. The time it took waiting for her clothes to dry was spent laughing, joking and drawing. He used her book to draw a pair of dragons intertwined in flight and she pulled a page from her book to draw him a sprite gazing into the water. The hour passed quickly and had her convinced that she wanted to get to know more and more about her devilishly handsome neighbor.

"Hey, so… why don't you ever use the elevator?" He asked when they were getting ready to leave. "I mean… any time I see you, it's just… you never use it. And I guess it had me curious." He stammered out.

Bella grinned. "I got stuck in it twice the first year I moved here. I've been using the stairs ever since. Even if they say its fixed, I don't like closed in spaces. Too many times that my brother or my cousin would try to lock me in my front hallway closet when I was a kid… so I use the stairs. Besides, it keeps me fit." She said teasingly patting at her toned belly.

"Do you mind if I join you then?" He teased. "I mean, after all, those stairs might move on you, and then you'd trip and no one would come rescue you for some time."

Bella found herself laughing with him, a blush forming on her lightly tanned cheeks. He'd seen some of her old Harry Potter drawings that she had fiddled around with. She didn't know whether to be upset or happy that he was playfully teasing her about it now. "I'd enjoy the company. I'll admit that much." She grinned.

The stairs stayed still while they ascended to the fourth floor. It was, however, filled with laughter and playful teasing as they made their way up. She wanted to trip herself purposefully on accident just to have an excuse to touch him, but she refrained. Little did she know, he was thinking of finding a way to try and touch her as well but didn't act on it. A very dangerous game was forming for each of them and they were each determined to come out as the victor on the other side.

"Well, this is me." Bella grinned coming to a stop in front of her door.

He nodded and grinned down at her. "Maybe I'll run into you again sometime soon."

Bella bit her lip and nodded, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Sure. I work from 7-3 during the week, but… my weekends are normally free. I run sometimes when the weather is actually nice out…otherwise I go to the gym."

He grinned. "I run every morning regardless of the rain. If you ever want someone to go with you when it's nice out, just say something and I'll wait up." He promised.

Bella grinned and waved him off before falling against her door. Things were definitely looking up for her. She took a moment to steady her nerves before placing her laundry back into their drawers. With a giddy smile she flopped back on her bed with her phone in hand calling one of two people she could always rely on to listen to her.

"Hey, Leah…you busy? Okay… is Emily there? Awesome put it on speaker… You'll NEVER guess who I ran into today…"

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Bella sighed and shifted her bag a little higher up on her shoulder. She was thankful the day was finally over. Her class had been frustrating today. Taking away recess from some of her students just wasn't enough sometimes; she'd had to send three of them to the office for fighting on the playground. She sighed again and tried to remember if the little boys had ever started fights when SHE was in second grade. She thought they must have and shrugged the thought from her head.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the silver Volvo parked next to her 2012 candy apple red Jeep Liberty. If she had, she would have run back into the school and called either her brother or Sam. There was only so much she was willing to take after an already trying day. Seeing her ex boyfriend- the man who had held her heart in his hands before it was crushed- was NOT one of them.

"Hello Isabella. You look well." Edward said with a crooked grin that, at one time, had put a giddy smile on Bella's face.

Bella stopped dead in her tracks. Her head shot up and her eyes widened in realization. "Edward, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing. I missed you." Edward smiled at her in what he thought was a charming and sincere manner. "How is the teaching job working out for you?" He asked.

Bella scoffed. "Like you care. Edward, go home. Let me be and don't try to talk to me anymore. I don't want to see you or hear from you. I told you when you climbed into bed with your dad's partner, we're through."

"It's like that now, is it? I gave you everything and you just move on and walk away without looking back?" He sneered, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be trying to charm her back into his life.

"You left **ME**, Edward. **NOT** the other way around. You were the one to walk away. You were the one to call our relationship quits. You left me when you brought another woman into our bed. Don't try to play it like it was my fault. I did move on. I'm happy now. So please. For the love of **EVERYTHING** holy in this world, just stay away from me." Bella hissed before getting into her car.

Edward watched her go with a frown on his lips. Getting her back was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. His father had made it quite clear, that unless he had someone RESPECTABLE on his arm and in his life, he was being cut off from his inheritance. His mother actually agreed with him. Neither of them liked his current girlfriend, Victoria. She was too trashy for them, and Esme had even asked him why he couldn't find another woman like Isabella. She had been respectable in their eyes- always polite, soft spoken, well mannered and charming.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the limp dick himself!" A voice sounded from behind him.

Edward knew that voice anywhere. "Hello Paul. Fancy seeing you here."

He turned to face him with an arched eyebrow. He was surprised to see Sam Uley with him as well. He eyed the two warily, not for the first time wondering just how many steroids the two secretly used to make them appear so toned and fit. He would never believe the muscle was natural and earned from hours spent lifting weights and attending boxing and martial arts classes- all if it starting from their time in high school. Edward sighed and shook his head- today couldn't get any worse could it? Bella's brother had always hated him- ever since he'd been caught cheating on Bella two years into their relationship.

Paul clicked his tongue. "Yeah, well, its not every day I get a call from my baby sister in tears because some asshat is yanking her chain wanting to play some pathetic, love sick, reject. Then I come to find out said asshat love sick reject is you. After **EVERYTHING** you did to her, you think you can just waltz back into her life telling her '_I missed you' _and it'll be ok?!"

"Easy Paul. We came to talk. Remember?" Sam said softly. His eyes were cold and hard as he raised them to look at Edward, however, cutting off any form of thanks he would have received.

"Yeah, well I'm done talking. I'm telling you now, you either leave Bella the hell alone or you're going to answer to me, fucktard. Got me?" Paul warned. He spat on the ground at Edward's feet for good measure.

If there were two people Edward was leery of intentionally angering, it would be Paul and Sam. They both had more muscles on their persons than Edward could ever hope to have in the completion of his lifetime and both of them had a score to settle when it came to him- they knew the truth for the break up between him and Bella. He watched them both closely before he relaxed his stance, trying to make himself look as non threatening as possible. There was still anger in their eyes as they watched him. He merely nodded and watched them walk away. Somehow he knew this was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought.


	3. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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(May)

Bella sighed and took another sip of her Caramel frappuccino coffee. Another week had passed by with four more sightings of Edward. She was trying to relieve some stress by grading papers outside of the Starbucks coffee shop she visited every weekend. She had run into Mr. 4B himself earlier and he had teased her about her shoulder bag overflowing with papers. When she told him it had to do with work he smiled in sympathy and walked with her down the four flights of steps and out the door; It had become their thing- meet up in the morning on the weekends and head out to start the day together.

She sighed again and began grading papers- marking off for miss spelled words on spelling tests or wrong answers given on math tests. It was still early, not quite ten in the morning, and she was one of only four patrons to the family owned bistro she loved to visit. It was what she loved about living in Port Angelas sometimes. While it had its busy moments, for the most part, weekends were spent being lazy in the little town. Her phone beeping in her purse broke the quiet and alerted her to a new text. She sighed and inwardly groaned as she wondered who would dare to try and contact her so early.

'_You'll never guess who was just in the shop!' -Em._

Bella rolled her eyes. Emily loved drama. It could be counted on for the woman to have at least two angst driven breakdowns a month.

'Who?'- Bella.

_ 'Someone has some explaining to do!' -Leah._

Bella cringed. Leah was in on it too. She groaned and wondered not for the first time where her patience came from when it came to dealing with her two best friends.

'Who was it?!' She sent the text to both of them and waited for one of them to respond while she went back to grading math tests.

_ 'When's the last time you talked to Rosie?' - Leah._

Leah's text had Bella frowning in thought. It had been at least two years since she had SEEN her friend. But it had only been about a month since they had last talked. Rosalie Hale worked as a personal assistant to some CEO of some company- Bella could never remember the name of it. She had done extremely well for herself having been with the office since she was 18 years old, moving up the ladder as she went. Seven years of loyalty finally paid off when she found out the old personal assistant was stealing money from the company. After a week, she was the new personal assistant and from what Bella could gather, Rosalie couldn't be happier.

'About a month… why… is she o.k.?' Now Bella was starting to worry as she sent a reply.

_ 'Rosalie is engaged to her long time boyfriend! She came to US for her wedding planning and cake!' -Leah_

Bella let loose a small giddy sounding squeal as she read the text. She laughed when she got a new text from Leah to tell her that she was 'a little hooker' for not giving Rosalie her new number when she had switched carriers. Bella shook her head and resolved that she would have to see Rosalie before she got too busy with the wedding.

The distraction from her friends had come at just the right time. It was what she needed to give her tired brain a break from grading papers. With a final text to tell them she would be coming by sometime in the near future, she let out a long sigh and focused back on the stack of papers in front of her. Now that she was done with the math tests, she went to work minimizing the large stack of spelling and comprehension tests for her second grade class.

Some of her students were well above second grade reading- like the fair haired blonde named Cheyenne. Then there were some- like the little brown haired, doe eyed Bethany- who were far below. She grimaced when she began checking the tests for the week. She dreaded seeing some of them. Her red pen would be running out of ink, of that she was certain.

The chair in front of her being scooted out drew her attention from the papers. She was ready to let who ever had sat down know that they were being incredibly rude when she looked up and gasped quietly. Her neighbor- the man she was secretly fantasizing about at night- was sitting directly across from her drenched in sweat from his run, with his tee shirt hanging about his neck.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. And please don't think me too forward or rude, but I saw you and had to come say hi. You look like you could use a distraction. So… hi." He said with that charmingly boyish grin of his.

Bella couldn't help but smile softly. "Hi. Have a good run?" She asked.

He shrugged and took a small sip of the coffee in his hands. The large chocolate muffin was picked at as he watched her. "It was alright." He paused to take a small bite of the delicious heart attack waiting to happen and grinned.

"You know… I debated putting a hand over your eyes but thought better of it. You told me you have an older brother, I'm betting he taught you to fight huh." He grinned.

Bella snorted quietly. "Yeah… he did. But it backfired on him a fair few times too." She said with a smug grin.

"Do you mind if I join you for a few minutes? If you don't want me here I'll go." He moved to stand before she shook her head.

Bella smiled softly. "Oh, you don't have to go. Please, join me. You're right I could use the distraction."

He grinned. "So… what's got you all…sad… no… angry…upset I guess is the right word?"

Bella laughed. "I'm not sad, nor am I very mad. I guess I could be upset- but more with myself. I'm just grading papers. Some of my kids just don't get spelling, grammar or reading comprehension as well as they should and it's a pain to see."

"Wow… you said you worked with kids… I had no idea…I guess I thought you meant you worked in a day care or something." He was actually impressed.

Bella laughed and shook her head slightly. "No, I teach second grade. I love my kids, but sometimes I want to strangle them when they act up. And seeing these off the wall answers… well… I feel like a failure sometimes. But they'll get it."

Jared nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "That's kind of cool. I like it when I see teachers that actually give a rats ass. So many of them don't. I think a lot of kids would turn out different if more teachers did care." He told her honestly.

She grinned. "That's one of the reasons I started teaching. A few of my teachers encouraged me a great deal. And I really do love kids."

"So… you know what I was thinking?" He asked after it had been quiet for a few minutes.

Bella was actually amused- his unexpected visit was just the distraction she had needed. "What's that?" She asked looking up at him.

"We've known one another for the better part of a month now… and I still don't know your name. I know that you like to use the stairs in the apartment building, that you go running for an hour longer than normal when you're entirely too stressed out, and now, I know you're a teacher… but I still don't know your name."

Bella giggled. "You mean you don't look at the names on the letters sent to your mail box?" She teased. His eyes widened in shock making her giggle again. "Thought so. So I guess it's ME who doesn't know **YOUR** name Mr. 4B."

He laughed. "Mr. 4B huh?"

Bella snickered. "Well what else am I supposed to call you? I don't know your name yet." She teased.

Jared grinned at her. "Ok… you caught me out… sorry. I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten about how we met. So… can we start over?"

"Sounds like a plan." She agreed. "I'm Bella… you're neighbor in 4D and occasional running partner." She said holding out her hand to him.

"I'm Jared. You're neighbor in 4B. It's a pleasure to meet you." He teased while shaking her hand gently.

Bella laughed and shook her head. Now she had a name to go with the fantasy at night. "Charmed, I'm sure." She all but purred.

Bella's phone sounded as she got another text from Leah. It read simply S.O.S. She chuckled and shook her head. Jared watched in amusement as her eyes lit up. "Talking to a boyfriend are we? I can see I have my work cut out for me now don't I?" He teased.

"What? Oh! No…nothing like that. No…I'm single actually… that's a message from a friend. She works in a bakery a little ways down the road from here… when she has a particularly bad experience with a customer, she sends me an S.O.S. It basically means, 'Skank on Site.' That's my cue to go in and play the supportive best friend." She giggled.

Jared chuckled. "How very chivalrous. I'm sure she enjoys having someone like you come to the rescue." He teased.

"It's nothing special. She's one of my best friends. I'd do almost anything to help her out if I could." Bella said with her cheeks flushed.

"My friend has a sister like that. He talks about her non stop. I guess she just got out of a really bad relationship so he's all protective of her right now. It's hilarious to hear about. I keep telling him to back off and that she can probably hold her own, but even my other friend who knows her tells me what a douche the guy was. It must be nice to have friends who would drop everything for you." He sighed.

"Bad experience?" She pushed gently.

There was just something about him. They'd talked on their runs together, and more times than not they did laundry at the same time, but he usually didn't open up too much- she had to catch him at just the right time. She knew that he was a tattoo artist in Port Angelas and his two best friends were as close as brothers to him. She also knew he was single like she was because his last girlfriend had been entirely too careless with his heart.

"You could say that. I moved from Seattle down here to be closer to family. My parents divorced when I was little and my mom got custody of me when she moved to be closer to her job. Growing up in a city gave me a thick skin… but nothing prepares you for your best friend stealing your fiancé." He said with a sad smile and a one shouldered shrug.

Bella gasped. "Oh Jared! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to pry!" She took his large hand in hers and squeezed it gently, feeling extremely guilty.

He laughed. "No, it's alright. I guess I'm just a little envious of your friends. You seem like a wonderful person. I'd be lucky to have a friend like you." He said playfully.

"You know… there's nothing to say that I couldn't be your friend too…I mean… you've been in your apartment for a couple months now, and we already sort of hang out when we run or we do laundry. It wouldn't be that far off the mark would it?" She asked somewhat shyly.

Jared grinned. "You know, I kind of like that idea. Yeah… friends I can work with." He said playfully.

"Oh my goodness! Bella?! Is that you?" A voice asked from beside them cutting off her response.

Panic flared in Bella's eyes as she met the curious, somewhat accusatory eyes of her ex boyfriend's sister. Alice Cullen had stopped talking to her the week after Edward had broken up with her- as had his parents, Carlisle and Esme. Jared noticed the look in her eyes and resolved to stay until he was asked to leave. This didn't look good.

"Alice… what brings you here?" Bella prayed her voice didn't squeak near as much as she thought it did.

Alice gave her a sickeningly sweet and all together fake smile. It didn't even begin to reach her eyes. "I'm in town visiting family. My cousin is getting married soon and I'm here to help his fiancé shop for the wedding. She has next to **no** fashion sense at **all**."

Bella nodded. "Well, I guess I should say congratulations. I'm sure your family is happy with the match."

Alice rolled her eyes. "She'll do. She's… well she reminds me of you, actually."

Jared's eyes narrowed. That had been a very thinly veiled insult. Even Bella knew it judging by her tensed posture and rigid shoulders. He sat up a little straighter when she turned her eyes on him. "And who's this then? I hadn't heard you were dating again."

Bella shook her head. "No… we're friends. Alice, this is my friend and neighbor, Jared. Jared, this is Alice. She's my ex boyfriends sister."

He nodded his head in way of greeting, ignoring the offered hand. That explained why hostilities were so high. He bit back the sneer he wanted to give her when he watched her nose wrinkle in feebly hidden disgust of his tattoos and piercings. "Hi." Was all he said.

Alice merely nodded her head and turned her attention back to Bella. "I hardly recognized you Bella. You never used to dress so… casually when you were dating my brother. What happened to the fashion sense you seemed to have back then?" She played it off with a teasing tone, but the words were no less cruel. "You've even let your hair go… I could send you to a stylist if you wanted to. They could do your hair and your make up and it wouldn't cost you a thing. I'd take care of it all of course. Like old times." The quiet disdain in her voice for Bella's appearance was noticeable- even to Jared.

Bella sighed and shook her head. "This isn't that bad. It's a weekend and it happens to be a day off for me. I'm grading papers for my class. I'm sure even _you_ can forgive me for not dressing up for that." She couldn't resist firing her own thinly veiled insults back at the girl she had, at one time, considered a sister. Jared smirked. Bella had a feisty side to her that he was slowly being drawn in by.

Alice shrugged. "You know if you were still with my brother you wouldn't have to work. Daddy is one of the most successful lawyers on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Edward has more than enough money to provide for you. I'm sure even your family could appreciate that. I seem to remember them not liking that you were going to school. Your mother always said she approved of you marrying my brother one day. It'd be a smart match if I do say so myself."

"My mom didn't want me so far away from her while I was going over my choices of colleges. But even she moved to Florida half way through my sophomore year. So, all in all, her argument was a moot point. My dad loves that I'm able to work and support myself. And more importantly, I love what I do. I love working with kids."

"If you say so. How about your brother? How is business going for him? Last I heard he was going to school still… has it really been that long since we've talked?" They both knew she wasn't very interested.

Bella smiled. "He's got his own shop and finished with a college degree in graphic art and design. My family is all very proud of him- I am as well. He's even added to his sleeves since you last saw him." She bragged. She had to hide her smirk when she saw Alice's nose wrinkle again. She hated tattoos or body piercings- other than earrings. She said they were un-lady like. And tattoos or body piercings on men were just as tacky in her mind.

Jared was starting to gather that Alice was a very spoiled woman who had grown up in a family with money, raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. He was also starting to gather that Bella was a very down to earth person who knew what it was like to go without and earn her way in life without living on the back of another person. He admired her for that. He couldn't help but note the subtle ways she was pressing buttons of her ex's sister- talking about her brothers achievements as well as the additions to his sleeves was a huge slap in the face to the woman seeing as she apparently didn't like them.

"Why didn't you ever take him back. He was so upset when you left him. He told us that you hated his hours and weren't willing to wait for things to settle down. I don't understand why you couldn't compromise. You two were perfect for one another at one time." Alice suddenly asked. She was completely ignoring the fact that there was a third party present and that Bella was showing signs of aggravation.

Bella smiled in apology to Jared. He returned it and pretended to fiddle with his phone. She stacked her papers in a neat pile with the un graded tests on top and slid the entire stack into her bag. Her pen was pushed into her pony tail as she leaned back in her seat to study the petite woman in front of her. Jared took that as a sign that she was preparing to leave and tidied up his own mess as well.

Bella stood, walked over to the trash bin and threw her used napkins in the garbage before returning to her table. She was no longer in any kind of mood to sit outside and enjoy the morning. Before she left she turned to Alice.

"For the record… things with Edward were **far** from as perfect as your family thought. I wanted to compromise for him. I wanted a life with him- not for his money but for **him**. I did love him at one time. What I didn't love, was wondering why he stayed out so long when his father was telling me he was leaving the office early most every night to come home to me.

What I didn't love, was waking up at 3 in the morning for **months** to the sound of Edward banging drunkenly on the door of our apartment complaining that he lost his keys… or the way he always smelled of another woman's perfume. What I didn't love, Alice, was how he cheated on me for nearly half a **year** with one of your fathers **partners** before he got caught…by me… in **our** bed. Until that day… I did love him. But I couldn't take it anymore and I left." There were tears in her eyes when she took a breath to collect herself. She smiled when she felt Jared squeeze her shoulder in comfort.

Alice was horrified. "I didn't… Bella, I didn't know. None of us knew. You just left… we didn't question him…he said you were the one to call it off… Bella, I'm so sorry…" Even Jared could see the horrible acting.

Bella shook her head and sighed disappointedly. "If you see me on the street again Alice, just walk the other way. I don't want anything more to do with you or your parents **OR** your brother. So just… please… just please leave me alone."

Jared followed her quietly out of the bistro leaving a very stunned Alice behind. Bella had apparently never talked to her like that before. "You ok?" He asked when they were half way home.

"I think so…I'm really sorry that you had to hear all that. I don't usually lose my temper that badly. I also normally never air my dirty laundry like that in public either." She admitted.

Jared shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Believe me… my two friends I work with are about twenty times worse when it comes to a temper. And for the record… your ex boyfriend sounds like an ass." He told her with a smile.

Bella giggled. "Thank you. I don't feel like going home and eating an entire tub of cookie dough ice cream now."

"Women." He teased. He laughed when she smacked his arm playfully.

"Just you wait. I'll find a way to get you back for that comment Mr." She teased sticking her tongue out at him.

He snickered until he saw the tongue ring he had forgotten she had. "I forgot your tongue was pierced. A tongue ring and a tattoo… my, my Bella, what will society say next." He teased.

Bella smirked. "I know… I know… not your typical school teacher huh.."

Jared laughed and held the door open for her to enter first when they reached the apartment building. "Not really. I guess it's a good thing you teach second graders though huh."

"And why is that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. It was a decidedly calculated look on her that Jared found himself falling in love with.

Jared smirked. "Well, I know if I was in high school and had you for a teacher, I wouldn't be able to keep my thoughts so pure as a 7 or 8 year old." It was his way of letting her know how hot she looked to him without him saying it outright. He grinned when she blushed noticeably.

"Is that a compliment then?" She teased. She didn't even notice they were standing right outside her apartment door.

"Uh huh. It is." He told her quietly, stepping closer into her personal space.

Bella nibbled on her lower lip as she watched him come closer. She was mildly disappointed when he kissed her cheek and stepped back. "I have to go get ready for work. I promised I'd go in today to help the guys out. We're training some new wanna be hot shot. I'll see you around Bella." He told her leaving her leaning against her door fighting to control her raging hormones.

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By the time Jared emerged from his apartment, Bella was nestled safely inside hers. He sighed and started down the stairs on his own. His thoughts were on his sexy as sin neighbor. Hearing what her douche of an ex boyfriend had done to her pulled at his heartstrings. They had similar stories in some ways… he had loved his ex fiancé Kimberly with nearly everything he had. But when she chose to sleep with his best friend and he chose to sleep with her… Jared shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. Going down that road again would only make him angry before work. He had gotten better- Sam and Paul had both seen to that. And now he had a new friendship with Bella to look forward to as well.

His engine was killed fifteen minutes later and he was headed inside to see Paul sitting at his station. A mother was hovering in the corner which meant the girl on his table was a minor. He **hated** piercing or inking minors. He nodded to Sam who eyed him suspiciously. Walking past Paul, he noticed the girl on the table and blinked. How had he not recognized the woman's face before he walked past her?

"Jared!" She squealed and Paul's hands were up off of her body lightning quick. Jared cringed and smiled shyly when Paul and Sam arched their eyebrows at him.

Josephine Conner… Kimberly Conner's baby sister. What were the odds that Bella ran into her ex's sister not an hour earlier and now here was HIS ex's sister on the table for Paul to ink her skin. Josephine's mother- Amberlie smiled in greeting. He nodded to her respectfully and turned to the girl on the table again.

"Hey Jo. It's been a while." He ignored his friends looks and nodded to her mom. "Finally talk your mom into a tattoo?" He was going to at least try to be friendly. The poor girl had been heartbroken- the same as her parents- to learn that he wasn't going to marry her big sister. She and her parents had been even more upset to learn what her sister had done to him.

"I did! She told me it's a reward for my grades! I heard you moved away… It's good to see you again Jared. I can't wait to tell my friends about this place! It's so cool!" Josephine grinned.

"We'd appreciate the business Jo. Thanks. You should calm down though, Paul's got really steady hands, but he can't ink you if you're moving around all over the bench like that. …Excuse me for a few. I have to get my station set up." He said nodding his head to everyone before scurrying to the back room. He sighed and rested his head on the door jam trying to clear his head when he was out of sight.

Footsteps behind him alerted him to his friends presence. "Hey… you ok dude?" Sam asked.

Jared shrugged. "That's Kim's baby sister. She'll have just turned 16 then. That means it's been almost a year and a half since Kim and I broke it off. Seeing her… and her mom… I moved away to **forget** the things that happened in Seattle. What the hell man, aren't there enough tattoo shops in the city?!"

"Oh damn. Dude, I'm sorry. I would have warned you if I had known." Sam told him honestly. "The mom said that she heard from a friend how decent the service was here. I guess a co worker of hers got inked in here. One of yours actually. The girl recognized the piece. Even if she **did **pick out one of Paul's cross and angel wing designs."

Jared laughed and shook his head. They all had a playful competition going with their designs and teased each other about it from time to time. "Just add it up to the already crappy day." He sighed.

"What do you mean? You had the entire morning off today! How could it have been crappy?" Sam teased.

"I saw my neighbor at the little bistro again. I mean, she was right there… and damn dude… she's…. I don't know. It's just something about her. She's all shy one minute, the next she's feisty and playful. I went over and talked to her finally. She even let me sit with her. Her ex's sister saw us while we were talking. They got into it kind of. It sounds like my neighbors ex did a serious number on her." Jared sighed. "Damn cheating bastards." He muttered.

Sam shook his head. "I'll never understand how some guys can be such assholes and get all the girls and other guys have to try so damn hard to even turn heads else they be unhappily friend zoned right out of the gate." He said with a sigh as they worked together to get Jared's station ready.

"Yeah… tell me about it. She called my bluff right away though…so I owe you ten bucks." Jared smirked.

"Oh wow. Too bad I wasn't there to laugh." He teased.

Jared rolled his eyes. "Whatever dude. Let's just get to work. New kid will be here soon to show us what he's got."

The doorbell chimed overhead and Paul joined them shortly after that. "I **hate** inking minors. Little miss prim and proper would **not** sit still after you showed up. I swear I need to have my sister in here to give people a few lessons in the art of patience." He huffed. "That woman is a damn saint compared to some of these fuckers we see on a day to day basis!"

Sam merely laughed, he agreed whole heartedly with Paul. Bella did really have the patience of a saint sometimes. "Now, now. Not everyone is a saint like little B. Ok, well maybe Leah and Emily are…but… come on." Sam grinned.

Jared rolled his eyes. It never occurred to him to ask who 'little B' was. He always thought Paul's sisters' name started with an I. mentally shrugging the random thoughts away, he turned to his friends with his arms crossed over his chest. "You know, I think I may have to meet the women who so easily stole your man cards." He teased.

A few playful shoves and teasing insults later, the hopeful applicant had arrived to show the three what he was capable of. After six clients, it was agreed that he would be added on as a part time tattoo artist to help them out on the weekends. Throughout his shift, and in between clients, Jared's mind wandered back to Bella- his neighbor in 4D now that he could put a name to the face.

He grinned when he thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be a woman he could start a new relationship with. There was definite chemistry, now all he needed to do was spend more time with her and show her that he would never use her the way her ex had. With his mind made up, the next few hours flew by and before he knew it, he was heading home for a shower and bed.


	4. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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(June)

Bella giggled from where she sat in her best friends' bakery- The Way Home. Leah and Emily told her in no uncertain terms that she didn't have an excuse to not have lunch with them today. It was officially her first day of summer vacation, and the three friends were catching up on all that had happened in the last few months. She had called to congratulate Rosalie, and even told her that if she needed an opinion, she would help her as best she could. Bella couldn't be more grateful for her friends insistence that she get a hold of the woman- she was only slightly surprised to hear she was marrying Emmett McCarty- Edward's cousin.

"I can't believe you're so content with teaching munchkins Bella. I mean, after all… Alice even said it… you would be _so_ much happier living in the lap of luxury being married to Edward." Leah's eye roll and obvious sarcasm sent the girls into a fit of giggles.

They were enjoying their lunch- a meal made by Emily before Bella had arrived- and Bella was regaling them with the latest drama. Alice had yet again cornered Bella, this time outside of her gym with Jared once more by her side. She begged Bella to understand that Edward was sorry for what he had done and she didn't want to see her brother miserable. She told her if she could find it in her heart to forgive the poor man, he'd make her one of the happiest women alive. Bella had told her politely to go to hell while Jared laughed and led her to his car.

"Come on now. I told you about that. Besides, I'd rather work for myself than have everyone wait on me hand and foot. It's just not right." Bella said with a shudder.

Emily nodded in agreement. "I see where you're coming from. Your parents raised you better than that."

"Speaking of… have you gone to see your dad or Uncle Billy here lately?" Leah asked.

"No, not since spring break. With the summer here, I'll have more time to go and visit though. Paul has been near hounding me daily to go and see them lately. And Sam… don't even get me **started** on that man!" Bella groaned. "He told me he'd kidnap me and throw me to the mercy of Jake, Embry and Quil if I didn't go home soon. Damn man is just evil." She sighed dramatically.

Emily smirked. "You leave my man alone! Just because you're jealous of his good looks and skills." She teased.

"No, that's Leah! I've got my own eye candy! As far as skills, I've got plenty to occupy my time. Remember?" Bella teased back.

"HEY! What is this?! Cruel Intentions? Sam is like a brother to me… it's just… ugh, so wrong. And you know Emily and I have yet to meet your new walking fantasy! All we know is you think he's fuck hot and he lives in the same building as you…on the same floor two doors down… oh and that his name is Jared and you go out to coffee with him every weekend and more times than not you're at the gym with him during the week." Leah snickered.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because I want you two there to mess it up for me… please. Besides, he's just a friend… one I happen to dream about every so often, but a friend none the less. And damn do I love to see him run with no shirt on…" Her eyes glazed over a little at the fresh thoughts of what she'd do to him if he were in her bed.

Emily rolled her eyes and brought Bella back to reality with a snap of her fingers in her face. "You mean nightly, don't you Bella? I mean that's what you told us… that it was NIGHTLY."

Leah's response was cut off by her phone. She let loose a giddy squeal and jumped up. "Hey baby. We were just talking about you guys."

_ "Uh oh. Sam they were gossiping about us…"_ Paul smirked.

_ "Wonderful… we're innocent in all of what's said!"_

Leah giggled. "It's nothing bad I promise. Bella is here today too."

_ "Huh. Well, we just closed for lunch. You mind if we come to see you? We're bringing Jay by too. He's been pestering us to introduce you to him."_

Leah laughed at that. "Yeah. We've closed for lunch too. Bella is out of the apartment by force. Emily practically dragged her here by her hair."

Paul laughed at that. _"I can actually see her doing it too. Ok, we'll be there in about 5 minutes. Love you babe."_

"I'll see you then. Love you too handsome." She hung up and danced over to Bella and Emily. "So.. The guys are coming over. I guess their friend Jay wants to meet us… probably to see how whipped they are and make fun of them."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Well, then… that's my cue to leave huh. I'd rather not see you and my brother play tonsil hockey if I can help it." She teased. She completely avoided her friends remark.

Emily laughed. "Oh come on Bella. They're not THAT bad! Besides, you're avoiding… I find it… intriguing."

Bella shook her head. "No, you and Sam are only _marginally_ worse than my brother and Leah. I'll leave, thank you. Just, call me tonight or something. Maybe we can go out before I head home this weekend for a drink at the bar. And I'm not avoiding… I'm just not as intrigued with men as you two are…. Which is shocking because I'm the single one and you two are well and happily taken." She explained with a roll of her eyes.

Leah rolled her own eyes. "Nuh uh! Sit and stay. We'll go out clubbing next week when you get back for Ladies' Night." She said as she heard a knock on the glass. "That'll be the guys. You stay put. No more arguments." She instructed.

It was Bella's turn to roll her eyes again. She shook her head, moved behind the counter and pulled one of the freshly made bear claws from the case. When she came back around the counter, it was her lack of attention that nearly landed her on the floor. She gasped when she felt a pair of muscular arms around her waist to steady her before she could fall. That tattoos looked vaguely familiar to her.

"I should get you a bell to wear so people know you're coming. That makes the fourth time this week alone. If it happens anymore I'm going to have to assume you're doing it on purpose." A deep voice chuckled.

"Jared?!" Bella gaped at him in shock.

He smirked. "In the flesh. Though I am curious as to how you know my best friends' girlfriends."

Bella was shocked when she saw her neighbors hands holding firmly to her hips. "You're their partner?! YOU are the Jared that Paul and Sam have been telling me about?!" She asked incredulously. "How in the HELL did we not know each other growing up?"

Jared steadied her and reluctantly let go of her hips. "Yeah… uh… I knew Sam from when I'd visit my dad during the summer. I met Paul a few years ago after Sam and I started hanging out again in college… how do you know them?"

Bella smiled and hugged him to her, her arms wrapping loosely around his neck briefly before she stepped out of his hold. "Paul's my step brother. Sammy may as well be an older brother too." She said watching his eyes go wide.

"I guess I never put two and two together. They always say 'Little B' in the shop… and I guess growing up, you went by Iz or Izzy or something. You never told me your brother's name or where he worked… just that he was a tattoo artist. Wow… small world huh." Jared said with a grin while shaking his head.

Bella's smile was almost shy while their friends just watched. They could see the chemistry between the two. To say Paul was less than curious was an understatement. "So uh… there something we need to know about?" He finally asked with an arched eyebrow after clearing his throat. Sam was trying to hide his laughter as Jared's face started to pale.

"Um… uh… dude… it's not… we uh…" Jared hated dealing with protective older siblings.

Bella only rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up Paul you're only eight months older than me, don't pull that intimidating big brother routine! And you know damn good and well you won't do anything about it anyways!" She huffed. She grabbed Jared's hand and walked over to one of the booths in a flourish before shoving him gently in against the wall, taking her place beside him. Sam only snickered and shook his head.

"Well… so **this** is the neighbor huh Bella…" Emily teased sliding into the booth and sitting opposite her.

Bella rolled her eyes. "You two can stop any time now. Remember… S.O.S.'s are only responded to when we're on GOOD terms." She warned.

Leah's mouth opened for a moment in shock before she glared at Emily. "Don't you DARE say rile her up Em. I really don't like dealing with some of them. Bella has the patience of a saint. So hush." She huffed. Emily pouted, obviously wanting to tease Bella some more.

Jared snickered, having heard the story behind the S.O.S. and merely shook his head. Bella, having seen it, poked his side and grumbled good naturedly. Sam took the time to sit next to Bella, effectively boxing her into the booth. "So….Bella… You and Jay huh?" He teased.

Bella eyed him. "You hush it Sam. You know better than to pry. Look at what happened the last time you tried that crap." She teased. Paul choked on his sweet tea while Leah and Bella giggled. Even Emily grinned after having heard the story.

Leah snickered. "Poor guy… Em… I wish you had known one another then. Sam had never blushed so much. For that matter, neither had Paul."

"They sure as hell learned to butt out though! And they NEVER tried to ask me what was wrong if I was crying after that again! At least in high school. I think Leah scared them with just how much she knew." Bella grinned.

Jared arched his eyebrow at his friends. "When was this? I've never known you two to blush…" He teased.

"There's just some things a guy doesn't need to know about his sister… end of story." Paul huffed.

Sam shuddered. "We were kids. And it happened when we were like 16 or something. Right before summer, Jay."

"Ok… so change of subject… what are you going to do with yourself for a whole three month vacation from work Bella?" Emily teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm going to ENJOY my vacation thank you! I HATE grading papers. Why we have to give those stupid weekly assessment tests is beyond me!" She huffed.

Leah snickered. "Oh Bella. You know you love those kids too much to really hate any part of being a teacher. How come you never wanted to teach older kids?" She wondered.

"Well… it's like a friend once told me… I'd have too many problems trying to keep thoughts from wandering." She said with a feint blush painting her cheeks while Jared sat back smirking. "All jokes aside… I love kids. Teenagers are too obnoxious. Especially boys who think they're grown and end up doing nothing but act foolish in front of the female population." She teased.

"HEY!" Sam, Paul and Jared huffed.

Bella raised a challenging eyebrow. "Need I remind you of Jr. Prom, Sam?"

Leah let loose a peal of laughter. "I had forgotten about that! What was her name… Amanda something…."

"Isn't Amanda the one that you threatened to put in the hospital because of what she did to Sam?" Emily wondered.

"No, that was Ariel. And I DID put her in the hospital with a broken leg and three cracked ribs after the way she treated him. Stupid little bitch deserved worse than that too. But man did she scream!" Leah grumbled.

"That's right. Ariel was the one that Sam nearly drove his car over the cliff for in an effort to impress her in his senior year. Stupid cow cried like a little bitch when she got her wrist broken after I dropped her from the pyramid cradle during practice." Bella snickered. "It was an accident, naturally." She grinned in a manner that told them all it was meant to be done.

Jared's eyes got wide. "Say what now? Bella you were a cheerleader? And wait… are we talking about Ariel Holderness?"

"You remember that?!" Sam's eyes widened as his cheeks flamed in shocked embarrassment. He chose to ignore Jared's comments.

"Yes, Jared. I did cheerleading for a year on a dare from Leah. And Sam, I remember Every. Last. Stupid. Stunt." Bella smirked.

Leah grinned and nodded. "And lets not forget when Paul first got his car. He used to tell the girls on the rez that he'd take them as close to heaven as they dared to go." She said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey… you leave my Jezebel alone! I LOVED that car!" He growled.

Jared snickered. "You really used those cheesy ass lines? What the hell bro? What kind of car was it?"

"It was his dream car… till his ex girlfriend went crazy and torched it when they broke up. I've never seen Bella so pissed off." Leah mused. "As to the make and model… don't ask… cars aren't my thing. Bella could tell you though."

Bella rolled her eyes. "It was a 1970 Chevelle. A 450 SS. Damn thing was GORGEOUS too electric blue with white racing stripes… and the engine… an LS- 6 450ci V8 engine that he had been building from scratch…" She trailed off when she noticed all eyes on her. "What?"

Jared was amazed. "Well… it's not very often I meet a woman who actually **knows** anything about cars other than that they go fast. You, Bella Swan, are an enigma. You like cars- apparently- you teach kids, you have a tattoo… you have a tongue piercing…I mean damn…"

Sam and Paul shook their heads. "**A** tattoo?" Sam teased. Paul merely smirked. "You mean to tell me you go running with this little chickadee every weekend, even go to the gym with her, and you've YET to see her other tattoos?"

Bella rolled her eyes at her brother and Sam before they could say anything else. Jared was in for a rude awakening when he did finally see them. She sighed and gave him a gentle smile. There was a reason she always wore baggy tee shirts when she went running. She didn't mind people openly staring at her, but she was still a fairly shy person at times. And after Edward, she would need time to come out of her shell again.

"Speaking of tattoos… when am I going to get to do another one for you?" Paul teased.

"Soon enough. I've been fiddling with a few ideas… just have to figure out where I want it."

"What do you THINK you want?" Emily asked with a slight shudder. Sam saw it and bit his lip to hide his smile. Poor Emily hated needles.

"What have you drawn so far?" Leah prompted.

Bella shrugged. "Not a whole lot. I know I want something, but I don't know what!" She sighed over dramatically. "So many choices." She mused before she, Leah and Emily giggled madly.

"So long as its someplace… semi decent. I'm not inking any place personal." Paul grizzled. Bella rolled her eyes and told him to go suck a dick causing Jared to choke on his tea and Sam to roar with laughter along with Leah and Emily.

"What about the family tree you were talking about a few weeks back… I could draw something up for you if you wanted." Paul suggested.

"Now see… that's why I love you, brother of mine. You have too many good ideas to not be in my family." She teased.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Shut up Bella. Just tell me when and I'll set it up. You need Sam to hold your hand?" He teased.

It was Bella's turn to roll her eyes. "Please… as if I needed to hold ANYONE'S hand." She smirked.

"Bitch." Leah huffed under her breath. "I'm still going with you when you decide to go." She was determined to see Bella squirm at least once to convince herself the girl was human.

"Maybe I will get the family tree done… my arm might be an ok place, so long as it's not too big that I can't cover it up for work. It just means no sleeveless tops. Or maybe my leg? Ehhh… I'll let you know Paul." She grinned when he rolled his eyes.

Jared arched an eyebrow at her in surprise and question. "Do I want to know how many tattoos you actually have?" He asked finally getting over his shock.

Bella shrugged. "I have a few… you don't think I had just the one on my wrist did you?"

"Well, yeah, I mean… no offense, but you really don't seem like the type to have a huge amount of tats. I could be wrong, but you've got that whole… innocent elementary school grade teacher image down to a T."

"Dude, she IS an elementary school grade teacher." Paul laughed.

Jared's eyes widened. "Yeah but she looks so innocent too!…sorry Bella."

Bella grinned. "It's fine. Save for the tat on my wrist that I got when I was 16, I've had Paul do every last one of my tattoos, plus my piercings. I've got eight tattoos and two piercing besides my earrings in total so far." She rolled her eyes when Paul snickered after Jared lost the ability to speak.

"Bella… you broke him!" Sam teased when Jared continued to stare open mouthed.

Bella shook her head and rolled her eyes. She looked pointedly at Emily, who merely shrugged. Bella smirked and before Sam knew what was happening, the back of his head was being smacked. She snickered at his dumbfounded look.

"Care to share the ones I HAVEN'T seen yet?" Jared finally asked. He missed the warning looks sent his direction from Paul and Sam.

Bella pretended to think about it before shoving Sam out of the booth so she could stand up. She turned to him, raising her shirt slowly up her stomach to rest just under her bra. She stared at him as his eyes traveled over the expanse of lightly tanned flesh. The first thing to catch his eyes was the dangling star charm of her belly button piercing. She turned slightly to show off the first of her seven previously hidden tattoos. Dancing across her right hip was the phrase '_Ut te ipsum verum_' in delicate script.

"What does it mean? The one on your hip?" Jared asked moving closer to trace the words with his fingertips. Their friends watched in fascination as she shivered, her body reacting to his touch.

"To thine own self be true." She replied easily before turning to her left side. A beautiful tribal wolf howling at a thumbnail moon made its way up her rib cage with the phrase '_neque ambulare, solus eris_' underneath.

"This phrase?" Jared asked.

"You will never walk alone." Paul beat her to the answer, showing off his own tongue ring when he stuck his tongue out at her in answer to her glare. It was his way of saying he was indeed still present.

Bella sighed. "Em, Lee… help me please?" She grinned when they only rolled their eyes.

She turned around then, lifting her shirt entirely with the help of Leah and Emily. Jared could only stare in shock. The phrase, '_spiritus magis rege_' was written across the back of her neck just low enough to be covered by a shirt collar. The entire left side of her back was covered in an intricate folded angel's wing. The entire right side was covered in a folded demons wing. To say he was impressed was an understatement.

"Damn Paul, she's a walking showcase for some of your best work." Jared praised. "What does the phrase on your neck mean?"

They shared a laughed when Bella turned around. She watched his eyes dancing over her body, taking in her lithe form with new appreciation. "It means, Spirits guide my choice." Paul mused bringing Jared out of his trance.

"After the first one I got done at 16, I got all the rest done by him when he was old enough to start doing them. He's an amazing artist." She admitted.

Paul grinned at Jared's raised eyebrow. "Damn right, but don't let her fool you. She'll say I'm amazing… we all know it's the truth…my lil' sister just doesn't trust anyone else." He teased. Bella shrugged but didn't deny it.

Sam rolled his eyes. "And there goes the ego again. Did you have to Bella?" He sighed. Bella merely shrugged and giggled briefly.

"Didn't your back hurt though? I mean, that's some intricate stuff. Must have taken what… four… five hours just to do just one wing?" Jared mused effectively changing the subject.

"Little bitch fell asleep on the table." Emily grizzled causing Leah to chuckle.

Bella smirked. "And you cried when the rose was put on your calf with boy toy's name drawn into the petals. And that was **done** by said boy toy too." She teased.

"Fuck you, you little skank." Emily huffed with a grin. "You said Sam would go gentle because he was my boyfriend! You **never** said he's that gentle **all** the time. Or that it involved that many freaking needles! I mean come on! They're **needles**… in your skin! And it hurts!"

Bella smirked and blew her a kiss. "Love you too Emily, but you're not my type. I'll take Leah instead." The girls shared a laugh while the guys all stared in shock. "And it wasn't that bad, it was only two…maybe three needles tops."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Just because I have a very low pain tolerance… I mean come on… 4-5 hours for **one** wing and you fall asleep through it!" She huffed.

"Some people are just weird like that Em. Don't get upset baby. I still love you." Sam grinned and moved over to the opposite bench to sit her on his lap.

"Aww, Sammy boo, I love you too." Emily smiled sweetly. She glared when both Paul and Jared bit back their snickers.

The girls, however, weren't so keen to hold back their giggles. "AWW!" Bella and Leah teased them.

Sam glared trying to hide the blush that was forming. Emily smiled sweetly and kissed his cheek before getting up to re open the store. Bella busied herself helping the two make the store presentable for customers.

"Has it really been an hour already?" Leah asked.

Bella nodded. "Just about." She sighed. "I've missed you two."

"You were busy hon. It's alright." Leah brushed her off. "We're grown up now Bells. You can't be around 24/7 like before."

Bella grinned. "See… this is why I love you two. Lord knows you're better than SOME people."

"Meaning?" Emily asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Lil' miss prim and proper has been hanging around the school and now the apartment ever since I told her to go fuck herself. She seems to think after the dressing down that she got from me last time, I'll forget everything that was said. As if that is gonna happen." Bella sighed.

Leah's proverbial fur bristled. "Do I need to have a talk with her? I mean after all that was said, I'll STILL kick her ass. And you KNOW I'm good for it too."

"Don't you DARE leave me out of it. I've been DYING to give that little bitch a piece of my mind too!" Emily growled. "ESPECIALLY after what you told us she said to you! I mean the nerve of that snooty ass skank telling you that you should forgive HIM of all people! Ugh, it makes me sick." She seethed.

Sam looked away trying not to watch Emily rant- he didn't want his friends noticing the tightness of his jeans. Seeing her angry was a turn on to him for some reason or another. "Here we go." He muttered. Paul only sighed.

Jared shifted in his seat. "So… are they always like this? I mean, are they always this… aggressive?" He asked a little uncomfortable with all the aggression the three were releasing.

"Not always. You're just seeing the evil side of these three because of who they're getting riled up over. Bella's ex… he did a number on her…I mean above and beyond cheating… he tried to turn her into the perfect little Stepford Wife… it wasn't pretty." Paul sighed.

Jared arched a brow. "That bad, huh? Is it wrong that I think it's kind of hot to see an aggressive woman? So long as its not turned on me…" He mused.

"You have NO idea…. My ex Arianne was the last person they got worked up over like this…though Emily wasn't with them then, just Leah and Bella, but man it wasn't pretty. The poor girl didn't stand a chance after she torched my car. It was like a week before graduation. And I broke up with her because she was going to some school on the East Coast. Long distance relationships rarely work out…"

"He wanted to date Leah too…that was the REAL reason. And he loved the fact we were all going to the same college." Sam cut in with a snicker.

"And you were cool with that?" Jared wondered. He knew from talking with Sam that Leah was like a sister to him. "I mean, I never asked."

Sam shrugged. "She liked him too… she didn't think I knew, but I did. So yeah… I was cool with it. Bella and I kind of knocked their heads together before they started taking college classes. Lord knows they've tamed each other over the years." He teased. "I knew they were it for each other, so did Bella- even before they knew it."

"Yes.. So _anyways_," Paul huffed. "I had just gotten home from work, Bella was cooking dinner with my mom. Charlie was watching a game on TV. I go get cleaned up, sit down to watch the game too and all of a sudden I hear my mom and Bella start screaming at Arianne as she's running away cackling like a loon."

"Wow… did they see her near the car outside or something?" Jared asked.

Paul shook his head. "No… it was in the garage. The bitch had come in through the side door when my mom and Bella had their backs turned and lit a match in the back seat."

Jared's eyes widened. "SERIOUSLY? Talk about a crazy ass ex! As bad as it is to say, I'm glad it was you, not me." He said shaking his head slowly.

"Lucky enough, my dad and Paul got the car outside without too much damage to themselves or the house. By the time the fire department came, my step mom had the area around the car hosed down enough that the fire wasn't going to spread. They put the rest of the fire out and that's when they found her stupid hoodie." Bella said walking back over to them. She grinned at her brother when he rolled his eyes at her interruption.

"They got their payback alright. Her and Leah… poor girl didn't walk across the stage due to embarrassment. When you've got the police chief's daughter coming after you with an unblemished record, and a member of tribal council's daughter as well… yeah… it wasn't good for her. She tried to say something, but no one believed her. Even Charlie had his doubts. Bella always gets away with shit. Leah too for that matter… they have this damn adorable sweet pout and the most damn innocent eyes…" Paul sighed.

Bella merely smiled. "I'm just that good." She said sticking her tongue out again.

Jared eyed her up and down, trying to process what he had just learned. So she wasn't as innocent as he imagined. As she made her way down the hall to the bathroom, Jared followed with the excuse of having to pee before they left. Leah and Emily only rolled their eyes; they knew better than that.

He found Bella bent over, picking up a napkin from the floor and almost groaned. Her ass in those jeans gave him an almost instant hard on. "Bella." He whispered.

Bella stood and turned slowly, finding Jared in her space a welcome sight. "Hey Jared." She said quietly before nibbling her bottom lip.

Jared grinned. "I just wanted to come say bye. The guys and I have to get back to the shop." He said moving that much closer so they were standing toe to toe.

Bella licked her suddenly dry bottom lip. "O-okay. I guess I'll see you later then." She mused quietly.

Jared nodded, his eyes not leaving hers. "Yeah… maybe… I mean if you wanted to… maybe I could come over later… watch a movie or something." He almost whispered.

Bella's eyes darted from his eyes to his lips as her head tilted up towards his slightly. "That sounds… nice actually."

Jared grinned. "I so want to kiss you right now. You have no idea." He whispered huskily placing his hands on her waist gently.

Bella batted her eyelashes slowly and smiled, almost shyly, up at him. "I think I do." She whispered in return as her hands slid up to rest gently on his broad shoulders.

Jared inched a little closer to her. "So maybe I should just kiss you then." He whispered, his voice husky and dripping with lust and desire as his lips just barely brushed against hers.

A throat clearing behind them had the two almost literally jumping apart. Leah smirked and shook her head. "Jared… the guys want to go. They said to hurry the hell up- Paul's words, not mine. And Bella… Emily wants to talk to you for a minute… she can't get your recipe for those candy puff ball things right." She said before walking off.

Bella bit her bottom lip and tried to quell her blush as much as possible. "So.. Um… if you're up for it… come by later. We can watch a movie or something. I gotta go… Emily will come brandishing a wooden spoon if I'm not there… like now."

Jared nodded. "Sure… um… I'll bring a few movies with me…I just… yeah I gotta go… see you later." He sighed, kissed her cheek and headed back out the door trying to discreetly adjust the aching hard on in his now too tight jeans.

It was only a few minutes later that Bella emerged and bent over the counter with her head resting on her folded arms. She only looked up when she heard Emily and Leah snickering. "What?"

"Oh woman do you have it bad." Emily teased.

"You have NO idea." She smiled and sighed. She was only just now admitting that she wanted whatever was happening between Jared and her to actually happen. It'd been so long since she'd ever felt like this about anyone. And now here was the perfect man, two doors down from her. She smiled again. Sometimes life actually did make sense.


	5. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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(September)

Bella sighed and leaned against her door. Emily had set her up with a friend of hers on a blind date the week prior, this had been their second date since then. The man, Jeremy Redfeather, was from the Makah reservation where Emily grew up and had taken her out for a quiet birthday dinner. He'd captivated her with his humble nature, kind spirit and easy confidence. She loved that he didn't care at all that she was only 'half blooded' as some girls in the tribe had often teased her about being when she was growing up. He was intriguing, she'd admit.

What wasn't so intriguing, and was in fact, rather embarrassing, was the way her ex boyfriend had shown up seemingly out of the blue half way through their date. She had apologized for Edward's actions, telling Jeremy that he was an ex who seemed hell bent on making her miserable. She had apologized again and asked him to take her home. He told her it was alright, but she knew better. His body language said it all. At the end of the night, regardless of being Emily's friend, Bella knew he wouldn't stay around. Edward was always on the dramatic side and he succeeded in keeping her single- again. It seemed Bella just couldn't get a break. Eight pm on a Saturday night and she was already at home- alone- with a bottle of wine opened.

With a shake of her head, Bella made her way to the wine rack sitting next to her fridge and poured a healthy dose of the red liquid into a tumbler. She normally wasn't one for wine, but the bottle of Merlot had been gifted to her, and she didn't want to appear too rude by not at least having one glass of it. She had to admit, it had an amazing flavor. Her phone ringing distracted her from her dark thoughts and she answered it with a sigh.

"Hello?" She cursed herself for not looking at the caller ID before answering.

"Well… that was certainly an eventful evening." An amused voice teased.

"Don't start Emily. I really just want to finish my wine, take a bath and forget the whole night EVER happened." Bella groaned.

"Eh… I had a feeling Jeremy was a little on the intimidated side when he told me what happened. He shouldn't have let Edward come between you two, and on your birthday no less. You're a good person, Bella. And an amazing friend." Emily told her. "I wanted to call and see how you're doing. He called me ranting and raving about the idiot pale face who 'ruined his evening with the fuck hot teacher.' Of course this was just before he told me he was heading home in the morning."

Bella smiled. "Thanks Em… I'm ok… a little mad but I'm alright. I just wish I could find someone who wasn't scared of the douche bag. I mean… this is the second guy who's said fuck it rather than try. Am I that horrible that they're not at least willing to fight to be with me?" She asked. There were tears in her eyes and her voice cracked.

"Oh sweetie! No! you're not horrible at all! All your friends love you. And you're one of the sweetest most patient people I know. I mean hell, you even tamed Leah. I remember how crazy she used to be. And you have a mass group of men at your beck and call if you ever need anything! You're not horrible at all. You're amazing, and gorgeous and smart and funny and passionate and any man would be damn lucky to have you on his arm." Emily cooed.

Bella sighed deeply. "Hey, Em. Thanks for that. I'm gonna go take a bath and try to get some sleep. I have to be at work early tomorrow. The principle always does staff meetings on Monday mornings."

"Sweet dreams Bella bean." Emily chirped.

"Night Em. Love ya girl." Bella replied. The phone was hung up and not ten minutes later, Bella was heading towards her bath.

A knock on her door caught her attention just before she slipped into the water. She huffed and threw on her silk kimono robe before making her way to the door. Looking through the peep hole, she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. Of all the times for him to knock, it had to be this one. She shook her head, fluffed her hair and cracked the door open.

"Hey Jared. What's up?" She asked trying to sound perky.

Jared grinned. He held up a few envelopes with a shy smile. "I think we're both going to have to talk to her now." He said in way of explanation.

Bella laughed. "But of course. Um… thanks. Did you just get home?" She wondered.

Jared nodded. "Yeah… new kid didn't work out like we had hoped. He got busted for possession. Sam, Paul and I are dead set on it being a drug free place of business so he got the boot. It's back to us rotating weekends again I guess." He sighed.

Biting her lip in silent debate, her head finally won out. "Do you wanna come in for a glass of wine and unwind a little? I just opened a bottle of Merlot. It's actually really good."

It was Jared's turn to hesitate. "You sure I won't be intruding?" He asked noticing her make up.

"Not at all. I just got home actually. Emily set me up on a blind date…it didn't work out too well… I'm no fun anymore I guess." Bella said with a roll of her eyes.

Jared snickered. "Is that so? Maybe we should make her come running with us one of these days for payback."

"She'd die." Bella said opening the door all the way for him while walking down the hall way to her kitchen. Jared mentally imagined a cartoon wolf- eyes wide and tongue lolled out- as he watched her hips sway gently from side to side in her robe. He didn't notice her turn around before her throat cleared.

"Sorry… sorry, um… you were saying?" He asked walking in and closing the door behind him.

Bella giggled quietly. She watched his eyes stray to her legs once they were sitting on the couch with their glasses. "You've never seen the tattoos on my legs have you?"

"No, you're always in pants or long skirts. You told me about them… but you've never showed them to me." He muttered. He didn't want to be too obvious in his appreciation of her barely covered body. He didn't want to point out either, that he knew the silk robe was the ONLY thing she was wearing. Obviously she was comfortable in her own skin and around him. He really hated to think he was being friend zoned. It was the WORST place for a man to find himself and not where he wanted to be at all.

"Well, here…" She raised her robe all that much higher and Jared had to shift on the couch slightly. The image of a black swan with its wings spread was put on full display for him. The detail was something else. Jared immediately recognized it as Paul's work and shook his head.

"You're brother has some amazing talent. And you have a great deal of patience to sit for it." He told her honestly.

Bella grinned. The tattoo itself spread the width of her thigh and when she walked, it made the birds wings almost seem to move. "It's a symbol of my family actually." She told him.

"The swan I get, but… why color it black?" He wondered.

Bella grinned. "Because of my mom's maiden name. Renee Black. My uncle loved it, so did my cousin- he loved it enough to have Paul do the exact same thing on his right shoulder blade. My dad had a conniption fit when I showed it to him but my uncle told him it would be fine. I think he was worried about who was going to be seeing it is all."

Jared sat in stunned silence. Black. As in Billy Black? He wondered how he never put two and two together before now. He knew her mother was a native American, knew her father was the chief of police and had married Paul's mom- another a native woman- how could he not know she was Billy's niece.

"Jared… you ok?" Bella asked with worry in her voice.

"Huh… oh um… yeah… I think… I mean… I know I never asked you… but, who is your mom related to in the tribe?" He was almost shy in his questioning.

Bella looked confused. "Paul and Sam never told you?"

"No we didn't really talk about siblings when we were hitting on chicks in bars." He quipped playfully.

"Paul only told me that your dad was the chief of police in Forks. But I'm starting to wonder… I mean… and you said your mom's maiden name was Black… the only people I know with the last name Black are Billy and Jacob Black…."

Bella grinned. "Yeah… that'd be my uncle and cousin." She said sheepishly.

Jared was shocked. "Oh wow… talk about a small world." He laughed. "I can't believe you're the chief's niece!"

"Yeah, really… how come we never ran into one another?" She smiled.

"Well, remember I told you my parents divorced when I was little?

After that, my mom got custody of me so I only saw my dad on the weekends- those same weekends you spent with your dad in Forks after he moved off of the reservation... I was normally hanging around with a few friends outside of your little circle- Sam among them… I didn't even really talk to Paul until we ran into one another in college.

I knew about him, but I hung out with Sam over the summers mostly. Once we were there in college though, we took the same art classes. We got closer and found out we had a few things in common… bad relationships can bond guys like nothing else."

She laughed at that. "Lee wanted to kill the bitch for what she did to Sammy. And Paul's ex…. I still can't believe it. But now Sam has his Emily…and Paul has Leah and they're so happy. So things worked out."

Jared laughed and nodded. "I had always heard about you while we were in college, but I'd never seen you before… Paul and Sam have a ton of pictures of their girls around the shop but none of you- at least none that I've ever seen." He mused.

"No… they wouldn't have too many updated pictures of me." She grinned.

"You like to hide from cameras don't you?" He teased.

Bella grinned. "Sometimes." She agreed.

"So how did you and Paul ever end up as caring siblings. It still blows my mind to think of you two as civil. You two seem to be total opposites." He teased.

She giggled. "My parents divorced when I was 3 or so, but they actually stayed friends. I guess they realized they were closer if they weren't in a relationship… my uncle Billy actually laughed at them and said 'I told you two so' when they signed the divorce papers. I got to stay with my mom on the reservation while my dad chose to move into a house in Forks so I'd stay with him every weekend unless something special came up.

My mom actually introduced my dad to Hailey when I was 5. That's also the first time I ever met Paul. He annoyed the HELL out of me for the first year I knew him. I mean, don't get me wrong… I went to school in Forks, he went to school on the reservation, but man… he was such a pain in the rear end while we were growing up. After Hailey moved in with my dad, I had to put up with him on the weekends too… But… I guess growing up together makes you think of them more as actual siblings over just being a step sibling."

Jared laughed. "You two seem really close though. What changed?"

She sighed. "The car accident…the one I told you about before…" She said holding up her wrist. "We were being typical rebellious teens…I was spending time at my friends house… and it was the one weekend her parents went out of town. Angie was an amazing girl. I think honestly Sam had a crush on her." She giggled at Jared's shocked look.

"Anyway… we stupidly let our friend Lauren convince us to go to a party at her friend Jessica's house. I guess if you wanted to be 'cool' in Forks, you partied at her house on the weekends. I had told Paul where I was going… he said he wanted to come too but for some reason, I guess he decided not to.

Things were going great until a few of the jocks in school tried to hit on Angie and I. They were drunk already… and honestly SO not my type. Cute… MAYBE… polite and respectful… not even close." She grimaced at the memory. Jared leaned over and took her hand with a smile.

Bella sighed. "Anyways, long story short… Lauren passed out. Angie and I wanted to go, but Jessica told us to stay a little longer. Eric and Ben had overheard us… granted they had only had one beer a piece…but it was early on in the night… they offered to take us home. Mike and his friend Russell overheard them… they followed us out to the open road… started all these stupid stunts to try and impress us… get us away from the geeks, so they claimed."

There were tears in her eyes as she remembered in vivid detail the events of that night. Jared wiped a tear from her cheek and rubbed her arm in soothing circles. He'd heard bits and pieces of this story from Paul, but he always stopped at a certain point, too afraid to visit the past and remember an accident that had nearly taken the life of his sister. Jared smiled at her and kissed her knuckles. "You wanna stop?"

She shook her head. "I'm good. I've never really talked about it to anyone except Paul and Leah."

Jared nodded. "I won't judge you. Tell me what happened?" He coaxed.

"Mike's car lost control…rear ended us hard right into oncoming traffic. Angie was flown through the windshield because her seatbelt defected. She was killed on impact. The glass in the back sliced into me- all over my arms and neck- while I was trying to brace myself against the hood as the car rolled. I had enough time to call Paul and tell him to come find me before I blacked out.

I found out from my dad later that Paul had dragged us all out of the car one by one. When I woke up in the hospital, Paul was in tears beside me. Told me if I ever scared him like that again he'd kill me only to bring me back and kill me again. Four months later I went with my dad to have my first tattoo done." 

"Wow… I'm so sorry. I can't imagine ever going through something like that." Jared said truthfully. He had talked to Sam that summer and found out that a really good friend of his had been in a serious wreck where someone had died. Now he knew who it was Sam was talking about. Bella was lucky to be alive from the sound of it.

"Angie was one of my best friends. Her parents were heartbroken. They came to see me while I was in the hospital and thanked god I was still alive. I told them that it was my idea to go and they should hate me. But then they told me that Angie would have gone with Lauren anyways- the girl was kind of a bully. They told me they were glad she had me to keep her out of trouble and say when it was time to leave and not let her do anything stupid. Then they went to see Lauren who was in the ER getting her stomach pumped and cursed her up one side and down the other for pressuring Angie into going in the first place. They did the same thing with Mike and Russell. It's pretty bad when a reverend curses."

Jared chuckled. "What about the other two kids… Ben and Erin?"

"Erik? Ben had two broken ribs and a broken arm. Erik walked away with a fractured hip and a broken arm. Ben also had damage done to his face… the air bag deploying saved him from brain damage… but… none of us really forgave ourselves or Lauren, Mike and Russell."

"Losing a friend in a car wreck is honestly something I've never had to deal with. I wish I could tell you it gets better. But you said you were 16?" She nodded and he squeezed her hand. "Maybe it's time to let go a little?"

She shrugged. "The day Paul turned 18, he got his certifications. I waited a year before I went to see him. I think I pissed his boss off something fierce. I told them under no uncertain terms that Paul was the ONLY one to see my drawing, and he was ONLY one to ink my skin."

Jared laughed. "Why can I see you walking in and doing something like that?"

Bella smiled innocently. "I have NO idea what you're talking about."

Jared rolled his eyes. "So what'd you have done? I bet it was something pretty cool."

Bella grinned at him and stood up, turning her back to him as she went. There on her left calf was a large cross with vines twisting in various patterns around it. A solitary date was done in a bold red color at the bottom of the cross. The phrase, '_Angelus sit mihi dux_!' was done in fancy script lettering.

"Holy hell, even back then his technique was amazing! I've never seen any of his early work. I mean, you don't see the people you ink unless they give the ok for a picture afterwards. What does the saying mean?"

Bella grinned. "It's for Angie. It means Angel be my guide. And I think Paul knew who it was for. You'd figure something like that would take maybe an hour or two… but for him it took like three hours. He wanted everything PERFECT so he put as much detail into as he could. He told his boss to take out of his paycheck what wasn't covered in his charge. To my surprise, the man was cool with it. I guess he knew before hand what had happened."

Jared nodded. "Yeah, some of em are alright. Especially if it's family. Though, I've worked for a few hard asses." He stifled a yawn and searched around for a clock. His eyes bulged when he saw it.

Bella laughed. "Has it really been two hours since you knocked on my door?" She teased.

"I think it has, Ms. Swan. I need to call it a night. Early morning tomorrow and all that." He said standing.

She nodded and followed him to the front door. "I enjoyed talking Jared. I'm glad you came to see me." She said leaning her head on the door.

Jared grinned. "Maybe I'll come by again soon. Sweet dreams Bella."

"Night." She grinned when he kissed her cheek then again close to the corner of her mouth before disappearing behind his door. With a sigh, she took a ten minute shower and crawled into bed with a smile on her face.

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Bella sighed. The week had passed by in the blink of an eye for her. She had a smile on her face as she made it to the fourth floor of her apartment building, thankful it was Friday and school was out for the weekend. She mused that maybe she would invite Leah and Emily over to finish the wine she had opened the previous weekend.

She never noticed a tall, pale figure standing near her door. "Hello Isabella."

"What the hell Edward?" Bella jumped back in fright. "What are you doing here?" She hissed.

Edward gave her a crooked grin. "I came to see you of course. I miss you, love."

Bella rolled her eyes. "It's Bella, not love! B-E-L-L-A. Get it right asshat." She huffed. Her patience was almost nearly gone when it came to her ex and she was letting him know she was at the end of her tether.

Edward frowned. "You've changed since you left me." He stated.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And your point?"

"I don't like it! I want you to come back with me. The family misses you a great deal. And I could make you happy!" Edward huffed.

"Are you serious?! Open your damn eyes Edward! What part of it's never going to happen do you not get?! I don't want you back. Did you admit what you did to your mom and dad yet?" She asked. "Has Tanya admitted to her partner- your DAD- that she slept with his son?"

"They don't need to know about the past. It's in the past for a reason!" He tried.

Bella glared. "Wrong answer dipshit!"

He'd had enough of her attitude and her fowl language. His temper flared and before either of them knew it, Edward had Bella pinned to the wall with a hand tightly pressed against one of her upper arms while the other landed a sharp slap to her face. It had force enough behind it that her cheek swelled along with busting her lip open slightly. "That's enough Isabella! I'll NOT have it anymore! You WILL respect me!" He growled.

Bella whimpered. "Let me go Edward! You're hurting me!" She hissed.

"Not until you listen and listen well you little bitch. You may think you're better than me… But I'll have you know, I can be the sweetest man you've ever met, or your worst enemy. As it stands, my parents want to see us back together, so that's what I want. Because I want my money and the only way to get it is to find someone like **you**. They loved you, so I want you back.

Now, if it means putting up with a new and bitchy you, then I guess it's what I have to do. The longer you draw this out, Isabella, the harder it's going to get. Now do us both a favor and just give in." He said before kissing her hard. He ignored her flailing arms and pressed her hands above her head, held together tightly at her wrists with one of his own large hands.

They never noticed Jared getting off of the elevator at the end of the hall. He had been too lazy to use the stairs, and at the moment he was thankful for it. "HEY! Dude! What the hell is going on?!" He seethed running to pull Edward off of Bella when he noticed her struggling to get free.

Edward was livid. "What the hell do you think you're you doing? Get your hands off of me NOW!" He almost growled.

Jared crossed his arms over his chest and stepped into his line of view, effectively blocking him from Bella. "I think I should be asking YOU that question! Who the hell are you, and what the FUCK are you doing messing with Bella?" He asked in a menacing tone.

Edward's fight or flight reflexes kicked in and he stepped back to study the situation. His instincts screamed at him to walk away and avoid a fight; One bicep was as large as one of Edward's thighs it seemed. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and huffed. "This isn't over Bella. We still need to talk!" He gave her one last glance and stormed off to the elevator.

There were tears on Bella's face when Jared turned to her. "You ok, little B?" He asked. He frowned deeply when he noticed her face, the handprint on her cheek, the split lip along with the already forming bruises to her arms and wrists and finally her trembling frame.

She took a shaky breath and nodded, offering him a small smile at the use of her brothers nick name for her. It wasn't but ten minutes later that they were curled up on his couch with an ice pack to her cheek after he had used both of their phones to take pictures of her face and arm. She hadn't even objected when he scooped her into his arms and carried her into his apartment. It was the first time she had been inside, and she was actually shocked it was so neat and tidy. Bookshelves filled with books, movies, video games and random trinkets lined one wall with an entertainment center in the middle.

Against the opposite wall was a leather sectional that Bella found herself longing to be swallowed by. His coffee table was low, but well maintained for as old as it looked, and the only other piece of furniture was a leather lazy boy recliner. It lacked a woman's touch, but somehow, Bella loved it.

"So that was the ex then?" Jared finally prompted when he came back after making them both some tea.

"That was the ex." She admitted with fresh tears welling in her eyes. "He's never been that… out of control. I just didn't know what to do. I was telling him to leave me the hell alone one minute and the next, he's hitting me and then kissing me like he owns me."

"The hitting thing is new then, huh? Fucker is lucky it was just me. Sam and Paul wanted to come over. They got called back to the rez by your dad this weekend though… You gonna be ok?" He was showing his concern while rubbing soothing circles down her un bruised arm.

"I'll be fine. It's nothing I can't handle for the most part." She tried to smile, but he saw right through it.

"Dipshit really is lucky your brother wasn't here. We may all be the same age, but Paul would probably still try to kill him."

"Tell me about it. Paul would have gone after him.. .again." She huffed.

"Again?"

Bella nodded. "When we broke up in our sophomore year of college… I guess I went home and Paul just knew. Don't ask me how, but he knew something was off. So he asked my dad and like a fool, he told Paul that Edward and I had broken up because Edward cheated on me with a girl he met at a party… it was a drunken one night stand… but word still got around that I had been cheated on.

Paul drove to the Cullen house when we were home visiting family… asked to see Edward and then had it out with him. He says they just talked, but to this day, Edward is terrified to fight Paul. Sam was with him at the time and neither of them will tell me what really happened."

Jared snickered. "I can't say I blame him… he's kind of scrawny…"

Bella giggled before quickly biting her lip to cover a whimper. "Please… Jared, don't tell him. I don't want Paul to get into trouble because of this. If it ever comes out… I'll let him know I made you swear. I don't want to cause problems, but I don't want Paul fighting for me. Not like that… he's got a life with Leah now to think about too. I heard he's gonna propose soon. He even asked me for Leah's ring size. So… I don't want to ruin anything."

Jared smiled. "Bella… I promise, unless it gets TOO bad and I HAVE to, that I won't say anything unless you ask me too. Ok?"

She sighed. "Ok, thank you Jay."

Jared smiled. "Take a nap. You'll feel better for it. I promise I'll protect you." He teased.

Bella grinned. "You're sweet." Her eyes were already closing. She scooted over closer to him and leaned her head on his chest. "Only a couple hours." She warned.

"Only a couple hours." He promised with a kiss to the crown of her head.

He didn't want to admit to her that he would be just as happy if she never wanted to leave. He was falling hard for her, and that could be a dangerous thing for them both. They had both been hurt and their faith in relationships had been shaken. Maybe together, they could try again, but it would mean they'd have to grow closer than just casual friends. It was secretly something Jared prayed would happen in the long run. He sighed and turned the TV on, carefully resituating himself to make her more comfortable while she slept with her cheek pressed over his heart.


	6. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

(October)

Leah and Emily frowned to one another as they watched Bella leave their store. They had spent the lunch hour listening to Bella vent about all her dates gone wrong- all because of Edward. Once they had prodded her enough, the proverbial flood gates opened; they were ill prepared for the disaster awaiting them. The poor girl had been out four times in the last month alone with four different men. Two she met by chance through friends at work, one was forced by Emily's hand, and another was from a friend at her gym who knew someone who had become newly single.

It was he whom she had gone out with the night before. Things had been perfect until Bella had spotted Alice outside of the restaurant they were in. True to form, as soon as they stepped foot outside the doors when their dinner was over, Edward was waiting for them. He caused such a scene that the ride back to her apartment was met with awkward silence and Bella even took the elevator up to the fourth floor after saying goodbye at the buildings front door. She had not even been in the mood to traverse the four flights of stairs as usual. Her friends had been shocked and now they were just really worried about Bella.

"Something needs to be done about this Leah! The poor girl is closing herself off from everyone us included!" Emily said worrying her bottom lip.

Leah nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it, I had to drag her here to have lunch. It's been a month since we last saw her! I never even knew that she'd been on any dates! And Jeremy? What was up with that? Sneak!" She teased.

"He just got out of a bad relationship last year. When I told him about a friend of mine, he seemed interested. They actually seemed to like one another. At least until Edward showed up to ruin it. THAT one was the only date gone bad I knew about. It seems like now, Edward has got his sister keeping an eye on her." Emily scowled.

"Who even DOES that?! It's not like she's his to claim! He lost that right a long time ago. And Bella is just going to keep hiding, hoping and praying things blow over. Like usual." She huffed.

"Yeah, well… it's gonna stop!" Leah growled pacing in front of her cousin. "I'm NOT gonna see my best friend hurt like this if I can do something to stop it! There's got to be something we can do! Someone has to do SOMETHING!"

Emily sighed. "What can we do Leah? Bella won't tell anyone else. We had to practically force her to tell us! She doesn't like making waves! She never has. It's just how she is, she's tough I'll give you that, but the girl doesn't like to feel like she's troubling others. It's her best quality and her biggest flaw all in one go. Damn stubborn woman."

"Well… what if WE told Paul and Sam? Maybe even Jared… they're close." Leah asked, stopping to look at Emily.

"I don't know, I mean… what if Bella gets pissed. It's one thing to fight over something stupid, but we've never gone behind her back like that before. Especially to her brother and Sam." Emily said biting her lip.

Leah sighed. "What else can we do? Bella's hurting. I've never NOT been able to help her before Em. That woman is a lifeline for me. I've known her since we were infants almost, and she's as close a thing to a sister that I've got. Hell… I'm dating her brother who I've flat out told her I pray to one day marry! Do you really blame me for being protective? She's family! Same as you, and if it was you in her place, I think- I know- I'd do the same thing."

"Alright. Lets do it. Consequences be damned. I don't want to see her hurt anymore." Emily said nodding her head. She made her way to the front doors to lock them and flip the sign that said closed. With that done, she made her way to the lights before walking to the employee entrance to wait for Leah to grab her things. Leah grinned, having sent a text message to all employees that they had a paid day off due to an emergency involving the owners' family.

The two left the building after setting the alarm and made their way to Leah's car. It would be easier to drive to see the boys rather than walk and give themselves time to fret and worry about their reactions. Emily sent Sam a text to let him know they were coming and it was serious and they needed to talk without distraction. She even added that Leah had closed the bakery down in order to have a much needed discussion with them. No more was said and the car ride was silent as they drove to Sam's tattoo shop.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sam groaned and slammed his head down on the front counter. Their latest customer had just left, completely satisfied with the work Jared had done covering the name of an ex boyfriend. Sam only shook his head.

"I don't understand WHY women do that. I mean, its one thing if you know for SURE you're going to stay together, but the stupid fool had only been with the guy for a month." Jared huffed.

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah… I waited till the day I proposed to Emily to get her name on my neck. That woman is my world." He grinned when Paul pretended to gag.

"Yeah, but you've got Leah's name on your wrist too… didn't Emily find it odd that you claimed two girls as your own?" Jared teased.

"Nah… she was actually cool with it. Leah's my sister… I can't say it any other way. I love the girl, I'd go through hell and back for her, Bella and Emily. But Leah was there for me after…" Sam paused and unlocked his home screen on his phone when it chimed. "Uh oh…"

"What's up man?" Paul asked with a raised eyebrow.

They watched as Sam's fingers flew deceivingly fast across the screen in answer to the text he got. "The girls are on their way over… something they need to talk about."

"Sure it's not wedding planning again? You guys only have a month left before the big day." Paul teased.

Jared wisely stayed quiet. He was extremely happy for both his best friends; Paul for planning to ask Leah to marry him, Sam for being engaged. But he couldn't help but be a little bit jealous too. Not so long ago, it was Jared who was engaged as well and the pain of what Kim had done still stung at his heartstrings.

"No… Em said something happened today… something serious… but she won't say what…Leah closed up early though, so it must be really important." Sam said with a sigh.

Jared watched as Paul's brow furrowed in confusion. "What would make them close the bakery? That's where about 75 percent of their business comes from." He wondered. His friends shrugged in confusion still trying to figure out what would have happened.

"I don't know, but that's them in the parking lot." Sam nodded his head to Leah's car.

They were sitting on stools behind the front counter when Leah and Emily walked in, all three of them wearing easy smiles as they greeted the two. It was easy to tell the girls were nervous, something highly unusual for them. The tension was mounting in the room and Jared didn't like it on bit. He shifted slightly before getting up with a sigh. He walked to the front door, locked it and flipped the closed sign before turning back to the rooms occupants nodding towards the back work area.

Sam nodded. "Come on to the back. We can talk there." He said with a gentle smile.

Leah squeezed Emily's hand before moving to hug Paul. She took a deep breath before following everyone to the back. She repeatedly chanted to herself that they were doing the right thing and it was for Bella. She only hoped Bella would see it that way too. Paul stopped Jared with a look before he tried to leave when they were all in the back. He somehow knew this involved him as well.

"Ok girls… what's going on?" He asked, finally fed up with the tense silence in the too small break room.

Emily sighed. "Bella came by today…" She started quietly. She looked at her hands, twirling her engagement ring around her finger trying to find the right words to say.

Instantly Sam, Paul and Jared perked up. Bella had been something of a recluse these past few weeks- even to Jared who lived just two doors away from her. "How is she?" Paul asked.

Leah shook her head. "Not good…." Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to focus on what needed to be said.

Jared tilted his head. "What's wrong, is she sick? I haven't seen her in a while…she's either gotten sick of seeing me or she's just been waiting for me to leave to head to work in the mornings. We used to see each other every day, it's been a couple weeks now that I haven't seen even a hair on her head." He glanced at Sam and Paul, both whom echoed his worry.

"No.. she's not sick. She's… it's…" Leah looked at the ceiling as if it had the answers she was looking for. "Did you guys know she's started dating again?"

Jared raised an eyebrow. "So THAT'S what's been up with all those clowns at her door?!" He rolled his eyes. "I thought they were all colleagues or something." He mused.

Emily grinned despite the heady atmosphere in the room. "One was. Or he was a friend of a colleague or something like that."

Paul and Sam looked at Jared expectantly. He sighed and shook his head in mild amusement as he recalled each of the men he had seen at her door as he came or went. "For like… the past month, Bella's had guys knocking on her door… a couple repeats. They were all jokers though… there was one… a native guy that she looked at least semi interested in. Even he's gone now though." He shrugged. They seemed satisfied with the answers.

Emily nodded. "That was Jeremy. He was interested in her too… for a while… something happened though and he tucked tail and went back to the Makah reservation. He told me it was nothing against her, he didn't want to be so far away from family." She said with a roll of her eyes and a sneer in her voice. Jeremy may have been a friend but she considered him a coward for allowing Edward to run him off so easily.

Leah shook her head. "The dates themselves were fine. Bella said they were all nothing but perfect gentlemen." She said while rolling her eyes.

"Why do I have a feeling we're not going to like what's said next?" Sam mused.

Emily bit her lip and grabbed Sam's hand with one of hers, running her fingertips over the designs of his tattoo sleeve on his arm with the other. "She has a stalker…two of them actually…" She started.

"Come again… it sounded like you said Bella has a stalker." Sam all but growled.

Emily nodded. "It's someone intent on making her life a living hell."

Leah eyed Paul as he tensed in his seat. "He's been having his sister do the actual dirty work… keeping an eye on her… telling him when she's out and about so he can conveniently show up…he's caused enough drama to send each new potential boyfriend running for the hills. Poor Bella is exhausted because of it."

Jared eyed the girls. There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling he may end up having to break his promise to Bella. He had been able to keep quiet about it so far, but if they said the name he was dreading, he would have to come clean and pray Paul didn't knock him through the brick wall. "Who is it?"

Emily looked at Sam. "Swear to me you won't do anything rash. Please… baby you have to stay calm." She insisted.

"I'll try, but I'm not going to promise that. And it's Paul you need to worry about." Sam said watching his friend.

Leah turned to Paul. "I swear I didn't want to keep it from you baby. I didn't know. I just found out and I already feel like I'm betraying her confidence… I just don't know what to do… please promise you'll stay calm."

"Lee…I can't make promises. It's my family. Please, baby girl, I won't be mad at you… tell me who's stalking my sister?" Paul whispered.

Leah had tears in her eyes when she looked at him. It made his breath catch to see the pain of her betrayal there. "It's Edward. I don't want her to be pissed off at me, but we don't know what else to do. She's cutting herself off from everything and everyone because she thinks she's going to cause problems otherwise."

Paul sighed. He wanted to throw the closest thing at the wall in his anger, but seeing his beautiful girlfriend in tears of worry, fear and betrayal…he pulled her into his arms and helped her calm down. "I'm not mad at you… or you Emily." He said giving the girl a smile. "I wish I had known. I wish any of us had known. I'm gonna kill him."

"I'm so sorry Sammy. I hate going behind her back but that bastard is trying to stake a claim on her life… he just won't take no for an answer. She said he's trying to win her back to keep his inheritance or something… his mom and dad loved Bella so now that's all he wants IS Bella. Regardless of what he did to her." Emily told him. Sam just sighed and hugged her close.

Paul closed his eyes against his anger. "Limp dick went too far. I warned him. I told him over and over to leave her the hell alone. First thing I need to do is call my dad. Second thing I'm gonna do is pull out my old steel toe boots. Third thing I'm gonna do is lay the fucker out for even THINKNIG of going after my sister again. He won't even dream about talking her when I'm done." He growled lowly.

Sam watched Jared's fists clench and narrowed his eyes. When he got up to leave, Sam kissed Emily on the temple and followed him to his station. "You alright bro?"

Jared sighed and slowly shook his head. "Have you ever made a promise to a friend to keep something a secret even when its seriously bad and you only find out just how bad from someone else?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, not prepared for the question. "A few times… but I try not to land myself in situations like that very often. Why, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me dude."

"I know I didn't grow up with Paul and Bella, or even Leah and I'm sorry it took me so long to ask to meet Emily…or to put two and two together that Bella was a part of our tribe and that she was Paul's sister… but damn Sam. Bella… she's something else! She's a good friend, and now I find out that some asshat thinks he's going to just… STALK her and stake a claim on her to win her over?" He picked up an empty bottle of ink and flung it across the room.

"Woah… easy bro… tell me what's going on. I'm not following you." Sam cajoled. His voice was soothing and slowly Jared began to calm down. He never noticed Paul, Leah and Emily standing near them after having heard the glass break. Sam and Paul locked gazes briefly- just long enough to let the other know they were worried for their friend. Jared rarely lost his temper the way he just had unless his feelings were heavily invested.

"Last month, when you guys wanted to spend the weekend at my apartment… the weekend you guys got called back to the rez by Paul's step dad…you remember that?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah… Paul was really bummed because he had been looking forward to just chilling like we used to in college."

Jared nodded. "Something happened. Back in May, I got introduced to the bitch, Alice Cullen… remember the day Paul was inking Kim's baby sister. I was non too pleased to see her let me tell you… she was trying to belittle Bella for every choice she made right down to what she was wearing and how long her hair was. I mean Christ Sam, the woman threw it out there that she thought Bella was in the wrong for WORKING! But then I found out a little of how bad Edward had treated Bella. To say I was pissed was an understatement man. Guys like that shouldn't have half a chance to even date someone like Bella, you know."

Paul snorted and Jared turned slightly to smile at him half heartedly. "So what happened the weekend we left… what's got you so upset?" Paul asked coming to sit beside Sam on an empty bench. Leah and Emily smiled and sat by Paul and Sam while Jared paused to quell his temper- even thinking about the day he met Alice got him riled up all over again.

"I'm getting there. I think I was more happy that we had off for the weekend because I just wasn't paying attention at all. I heard shouting at the end of the hall, looked up and I swear if I could turn into the hulk or something, I would have." Jared sighed. "Don't be mad at me Bella." He muttered.

Sam raised an eyebrow and waited patiently. He grinned when Emily hugged him from behind resting her chin on his broad shoulder. "I put a message on the front door that said you were closed for a family emergency." She whispered, watching while Jared tried to gather his thoughts.

"Jay… bro… you're scaring me… you're never this bad with words. What's up man?" Paul tried.

"Bella… he had her backed into the wall… he was screaming in her face… when he stopped screaming at her he forced himself on her… and when I got close enough I saw the busted lip and the hand print on her face. All I know is he was forcing himself on her, and she was trying really damn hard to get away…he had her pinned by her wrists and there were bruises forming on her arms…" Jared swallowed and sat on his work bench. "I've never been so scared and pissed off all at once in my life."

Paul swallowed down his anger. He noticed Sam's fists were balled up and Leah and Emily were both tense as well. "W-who was it, Jay?"

"Her ex… she told me it was Edward." Jared tried to fight the angry tears in his eyes, and Paul and Sam both noticed it.

Jared may have been an ass sometimes, but they both knew that he was taught to always respect women. Just because his parents didn't get along didn't mean that they didn't teach him that women were to be treated like goddesses- or so his dad had told him. If there was ever an argument it was better to walk away and calm down first before trying to solve it in anger. It was a rule Jared always lived by and to see something happen to Bella- something he had had ingrained in his head was wrong… Jared was not a happy man.

Paul couldn't fault him for keeping it a secret. If he knew his sister, he knew Bella had told him not to say anything. He wanted to be mad. He really wanted to hit Jared, but seeing him so heartbroken over it, Paul simply sighed and hugged Leah to him instead.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "That was the secret wasn't it." It was a statement more than a question. "Did she make you swear to not tell any of us?"

He nodded. "Bella told me she didn't want either of you getting into trouble. Sam for the wedding, and Paul… you're her brother. She said she didn't want you two to worry and she could handle it." Jared saw the small smile. He could have blown Paul's plans wide open.

"I told her I wouldn't say anything unless I felt I had no other choice. Hearing what's been going on… he's not going to stop unless something is done. And he won't listen to her when she plainly tells him to leave her alone. I feel like Leah right now, you know that? I don't like breaking promises, but this one… she's gonna end up hurt." Jared whispered the last part, speaking more to himself than to his friends. They could all hear it loud and clear though, and they all felt the same way.

Paul sighed. "That's how Bella is. We're cool dude. Don't worry. I'm still going to have words with Edward though. He keeps messing with my baby sister, I'll kill him before I talk to my dad."

Sam grinned. For the last ten or so years, Charlie had been Paul's dad, not his step dad- the same way Bella was his sister not just his step-sister. "I'll help. Bella is family to me. And I'm pretty sure Jake, Embry and Quil are going to want to have works with fuckward too."

"I'll help you guys too." Jared promised.

Leah and Emily smiled. This was what family was all about. The hard part now was getting Bella to open up to them. They spent another half hour talking about what could possibly be done and it was agreed that the girls were to take Bella out for a weekend get away at a spa in Seattle. While they were doing that, Sam, Paul and Jared were going to be having words with Edward. If he was lucky, he'd make it through unscathed.

By the time Jared got home from work, there was a small weight lifted from his shoulders. Yes, he had blown what happened to Bella out into open air, yes, he felt he had betrayed her confidence. But now, at least something would be done about it. He closed his eyes and sighed as he stopped to check his mail box. He rolled his eyes when he saw the name Isabella Swan, apartment 4 D plastered across a few envelopes. He took the elevator up and stopped to knock on her door. When there was no answer, he sighed and headed to his own apartment briefly.

Bella watched from the peep hole as Jared returned and scribbled something onto a post it note before sliding her mail to her from the other side of the door. She watched him retreat into his own apartment and groaned. Cursing Edward, she opened the door and made a show of looking both ways down the hall. She actually HAD gotten out of the shower, but it wasn't as recently as she was pretending it was. And it was all in case he was doing what she had been doing, watching from the peep hole of his own door.

With a small shrug, she closed the door and picked her mail up. There on the post it note, in his surprisingly legible handwriting, was a message that simply said, 'I miss hanging out. Come over some time. -Jay'

She smiled. It was decided then and there that Edward was going to start having less of an effect on her social life. She'd already made up her mind, she wasn't taking him back. But avoiding people, her friends especially, wasn't healthy. Tomorrow was a new day, and she vowed to try and gain back some of the ground she'd lost with her friends. She only hoped her ex would take the hint and back off. She really didn't need all the extra drama. 


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

Thanks you guys for taking the time to review, follow and or favorite this. It makes me all giddy inside :D I was able to get this chapter knocked out a little earlier than I expected. So... enjoy. And don't worry... Paul is behaving himself for the sake of staying out of trouble. Edward will get his in the end.

Chapter 6

(November)

Bella sighed and curled up on her couch with a cup of coffee and a book. She had just gotten out of a shower and was clad only in a black lace bra and thong set with her silk kimono robe over it. Last night had been another failed attempt at a date. She was almost at her wits end. She was thankful it was the weekend tomorrow. She was looking forward to two relaxing days of no work, and no stalking ex boyfriends to intimidate would be boyfriends.

Her self made vow had held. Leah and Emily were more than pleased when she started coming out for lunch with them more often. They also loved that she was talking to the boys again as well. Her weekend jogs were picked up with Jared once more and their visits to the gym were once again routine. None of them had the heart to reprimand her for how she had acted. Bella was selfless in that sense. She would have rather dealt with the stress of having a stalking ex boyfriend on her own than to include her friends. It was simply bad luck that Leah knew her entirely too well and knew how to draw information out of her faster than a nurse drew blood from a patient.

She had just gotten into her book and was completely oblivious of anything else around her. It was at that moment when her front door opened quietly and three sets of ears listened out for any sign of life in the apartment. Paul, Sam and Jared walked through the door and rolled their eyes when they saw her. She didn't even hear the keys in the keyhole, much less the door open. Paul only sighed and shook his head.

"Well it's nice to know you'd be safe from someone trying to rob you. At least you have Jared to look out for you!" Paul said right behind her.

Within moments Paul, Sam and Jared were doubled over in laughter as Bella let out a high pitched shriek and jumped from the couch. Her back was flush against the opposite wall and she had a hand pressed to her heart as she tried to calm her frazzled nerves.

When they all finally calmed down, Bella made her way into her room to change into a flimsy tank top and a pair of sleep shorts. She didn't feel like getting dressed just yet, but walking around in a robe with next to nothing on under it while her brother was in the apartment… that wasn't acceptable either. She made her way into the kitchen to grab everyone drinks and something to eat once she was out of her room. No one would ever deny that she had been raised properly.

"So do you three want to tell me WHY you felt the need to knock about ten years off of my overall lifespan?" She quipped when they had settled down against the plush cushions of her living room furniture.

Paul shrugged. "Missed my lil sister."

The truth of it was Leah had heard from her friend Rosalie that Alice told her Edward had been avoiding three massive native Americans who had been in his office for nearly a week to speak with him. Alice figured that Rosalie wouldn't know who they were when she started degrading them, calling them all sorts of horrendous things. Leah also learned that Rosalie happened to switch Alice's hair dye colors so the woman was walking around with bubblegum pink hair and eyebrows for a few more weeks.

It came out from Emily who had just gotten off the phone with Rosalie as Sam had been coming in to see her that morning, that Edward was going to be stopping by to see Bella on his lunch break today. He wanted her to call off her lackeys- so Rosalie had quoted him directly at least. They wanted to see his face when he learned that the men he'd been avoiding were now relaxing as guests in Bella's home. Sam and Jared could only snicker. Paul was barely containing his smirk of glee as they all relaxed against the couch cushions.

Bella scoffed. "Paul, please… you're ONLY eight months older than I am. And by NO means does that make you more mature than me. Seriously, you're little stunt just proves it." She huffed.

Sam smirked. It was quickly wiped away when she raised her eyebrow menacingly at him. "I uh… I mean… we um…we wanted to say hi… so… hi Bella."

Bella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hi Sam. You're still not off the hook."

Jared wisely stayed quiet. He threw a sideways smirk to Paul and Sam when she merely smiled at him. "Hey Jay."

Jared grinned in return. "Hey Bella. Sorry about scaring you." He said.

"Suckup!" Sam coughed.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "What was that Sam? Why yes, of COURSE I'd love to tell Emily about the porn I saw you watching when she was out shopping with Leah the other day. I'm sure she'd LOVE to know you imagine her as a bottle blonde with too much make up caked onto her face and a mouth that just won't shut." She challenged.

Jared and Paul snickered when Sam paled. They stopped quickly when she turned her attention on them. Paul was quick to change the subject. "So… I was kind of hoping you were free for a while Bella… I rented a movie for us to watch with you in mind specifically." Paul grinned.

"Should I be worried?" Bella mused as she eyed down her brother.

"Nope." He grinned popping the p.

She sighed. "Gonna give me a hint?"

Sam grinned. "Who's your favorite super hero of all time?" He moved his gaze to Jared. They may have been best friends, but he didn't believe it when they told him that Bella was a super man nerd.

"YOU BROUGHT ME MAN OF STEEL?!" She all but squealed before lunging herself at her brother, kissing his cheek repeatedly.

Jared was floored. "Well damn." It was all he had time to say before Bella was in his lap kissing his cheek too. "Who knew?" He teased.

"Hush. Super man is amazing! And that move was INCREDIBLE! Are you kidding me?! Did you even SEE it?!" Bella squealed again pretending to swoon against Jared's chest.

Sam shook his head. "Yes Bella, we saw it. Now hush and put the dang movie in. Sheesh woman. You'd think it was something important."

"Hey, just because you like the wimpy little flying RAT!" Bella teased. She got up, placed the DVD in the player and curled back up at Jared's side. It was natural for them and Paul watched with open curiosity. He had to wonder if they even knew they were doing it- gravitating towards one another the way they were.

Sam pretended to glare. "We're so not going there little miss. There isn't a valid argument you can come up with to make me think that superman is more important than batman! I mean, the dude is awesome." He said indignantly.

"Plus he has money to burn!" Paul added in.

"Let's not forget the fast car." Jared mused.

Bella sighed. "So you're a batman fan too, huh Jared." She said sadly.

"Nah… I like em all honestly. I think batman has some fun villains. The joker is hilarious! But I like all the heroes. Although, Thor is pretty cool… I mean what can be more awesome than a God?"

Bella eyed him momentarily before she shrugged and curled back up beside him. "Smart man." Was all she said before the movie started.

Two and a half hours later and the four were teasing one another- mainly Bella about her love for superman again. The atmosphere was light and friendly and Bella was feeling more relaxed than she had in a long while. It had been a little under two months since Edward began to try and force his way back into her life and she vowed to herself that she wasn't going to give him anymore ways in.

"You ok Bella? You seem kind of down all of a sudden. Wanna go for a run to put a smile on your face?" Jared mused.

"I'm good… just thinking I guess… been busy lately. I'm glad you guys are here though." She grinned at him.

Sam laughed. "Yeah, yeah, we love you too Bella. No need to embarrass yourself." He teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Hush it you! Don't make me cry to Emily. I mean, after all…. She's the one who makes sure you're getting taken care of regularly." She smirked.

Paul and Jared both stared at her in shock. "You'd really take that away from him?! Bella you can't be THAT cruel!" Paul stuttered out.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "You'd think not. But…Oh Sammy, I hope you know I'm teasing. I couldn't do that to you… at least not without serious provocation." She appeased giggling at the shock written onto his face.

Jared shook his head. "So not a typical teacher." He muttered.

"What was that Jay? Hm?" She needled poking her finger into his ribs. She smirked when he squirmed.

"I said nothing." He quipped squirming away from her prodding fingers. It had been a well kept secret that Jared was ticklish. That was until Bella uncovered it on accident. Now, she took advantage of it whenever she could.

Paul and Sam watched the two, lost in their own little world. Bella had moved so she was almost straddling Jared's lap as she tickled his sides. It wasn't until Jared finally pinned her hands behind her back with his, holding gently at her wrists that either of them became slightly uncomfortable. Paul cleared his throat loudly just before their lips met in what would have been a very lust filled kiss.

Sam laughed at their flushed faces. "Problems?" He teased.

"One name Sam." Bella idly threatened. She hopped up off of Jared's lap and began gathering their cups to take to the kitchen. She grinned when Jared stood and took two of the glasses from her motioning for her to lead the way.

Paul shook his head. "I should be pissed. Jay's got the hots for my baby sister… but damn, I want those two to get together."

"I know where you're coming from. He'd be good for her. And she'd be just as good for him. You know that." Sam mused.

Paul nodded his head in agreement. "I think he'd be the ONLY boyfriend I've ever willingly approved of."

"Me too… I hated Edward. He was so wrong for her. I knew it before we even knew what an asshat he really was." Sam huffed. "Just something about him. He would always look down on us because we're Native Americans. I mean… really? What the hell? It was like he was trying to squash out a part of her family history just because he doesn't like us. Fucker should have had his head bashed in a long time ago."

Paul laughed. "Down boy."

"Sorry. Just… ugh. We need to get those two together before my blood pressure gets bad." Sam teased.

"Let's just see where it goes with them. There's definite chemistry. But Jared is still clinging to Kim. And if I ever meet the bitch, I'll let Leah loose on her. And that's saying something." Paul said with a chuckle.

"Don't forget Emily. I forget sometimes that they're related." Sam shuddered.

"Or that they're best friends with Bella?" An amused voice sounded. They looked up sheepishly to see Jared standing beside them.

"How much did you hear?" Paul wondered as he sat down. "And where's Bella?"

Jared shrugged with a grin on his lips. "Just how I'm still clinging to Kim and you'll let Leah and Emily loose on her if they ever meet. Don't worry guys. Kim's…. we're… she's gone. And yes, it took a damn large chunk out of me. But… I'm here. And… it's getting better. As for Bella, she said she was gonna clean the kitchen then get dressed in something more fitting for company. I guess she liked to let her hair dry or at least that's what she gave me as an excuse." He said with a one shouldered shrug.

"So… are Leah and Emily REALLY that bad? I've heard stories from you two… but they seem so sweet. So does Bella for that matter." Jared grinned sitting down with them.

"I don't know what I would have done without Leah after Ariel left me." Sam mused. "That girl is truly one of the best friends I'll ever have. And yes… those three together are hell to keep in control of when they're pissed… I pity the fool who thinks they have a shot in the dark of beating them."

"You know… you never did tell me what happened between you and Ariel… All I heard when I came to stay with my dad for the summer was that Ariel and you had split." Jared frowned. "You guys had been dating since like, freshman year or some shit."

Sam nodded and eyed Paul in thanks. Paul was the only one who knew the truth. He was there when Sam found her. Bella knew by default, but that was because Paul was her brother and Sam was almost always near Paul- save for the weekends and during the summer time when Paul would work.

"Ariel never gave me any warning. I came home from my part time job in my dad's mechanic shop and there she was, in my bed with a really good friend of mine. But what about killed me was when she acted like it was nothing. She wasn't shocked, she wasn't scrambling to find clothes, she just laid there looking at me. She even had the balls to finish getting them both off.

It was after we were alone that she gave me my promise ring back and told me that she never wanted a thing to do with me again. She said she needed more than I could give her. I'd always be nothing more than a grease monkey and I'd never make any of my dreams come true for her. She wanted a life outside the small town reservation and she wanted what the world could offer. She left town the next week and I haven't seen her since." He said as his eyes misted over. The pain was still there buried deep.

Paul clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got Em now bro. It's all good."

Sam grinned and nodded. "Yeah. That's the other reason for the tattoo on my wrist. Leah banged her up good the next day. Busted her leg so she started college in a cast. No matter the story she told anyone, we all knew the real reason. We also all knew that she wouldn't say anything." He shrugged.

"Bella busted her face to high heaven, gave her a pretty black eye, a broken nose and a cracked jaw bone. She also told Ariel that if she ever came back around me she'd regret it. Bella never says something she doesn't mean, and she grew up around guys so she packs a serious punch."

"Man the girls are vicious." Jared mused.

Paul laughed. "Yup." He agreed. He was about to say something else when a knock on the door sounded. "Show time." He snickered.

Sam stood and walked down the hallway to Bella's room knocking gently on the door. "Bella, were you expecting someone?" He asked.

"Not that I'm aware of, why?"

"There's someone knocking at the door." Sam answered.

"Jared, grab the door please." Bella called out from the hallway.

"Sure, she sends me to do the dirty work." He grumbled good naturedly.

"That's what you're good for." Paul teased.

Bella laughed having heard them. "No Jay. I trust you over the idiots I call family." She said having fun ribbing Paul and Sam.

Jared opened the door and arched an eyebrow when he saw just who was standing in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

Edward glowered. "What the hell are you doing here?" He all but hissed out, trying in vain to hide the bouquet of a dozen or so red roses from Jared's laughing eyes.

Jared blinked. "I was invited in. What do you want?"

"I'm here to see Isabella." Edward huffed.

"Isabella… Isabella… hey guys… do we know an Isabella?" Bella bit her bottom lip to help stifle her giggles as she walked down the hallway. She had come out of her room after slipping into a pair of tight, form fitting dark wash jeans and a cream colored sweater top with her feet bare and toes painted bright red.

Paul grinned and winked to Bella. "No.. no Isabella here." He retorted moving to stand behind Jared. "Oh, it's you." He caught Edwards gaze. "What the fuck do you want fuck face?"

"Hello Paul." Edward sighed trying to hide his disgust. "I wanted to talk to Isabella. Would you see if she's not to busy and send her into the hallway for a private and brief conversation alone?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "You and my sister have been done for a while. Take your cheating ass away from her door. I'll only say it nicely one more time."

"Hey guys… who's at the door?" Sam moved to stand beside Paul. "Oh, it's limp dick. What the hell does he want?" He asked them.

Jared rolled his eyes. "He wanted to talk to Bella. Alone. Out in the hallway."

Sam spat at Edward's feet, mindful to keep it out of Bella's apartment. "Like hell is THAT gonna happen!" He growled as he cracked his knuckles in subtle warning.

Paul's grin mirrored Jared's- both were decidedly sinister. "My thoughts exactly. You need to leave the way you came. My sister had made it very clear that she wants nothing to do with you! Now get gone fucker. Before I call the police for harassment." He warned.

"Will you please give these to her? Roses were always her favorite."  
Edward asked before handing the roses to Jared.

Jared rolled her eyes. "So not even close. It's the Stargazer Lily nimrod. Do you even know ANYTHING about her?" He said taking the roses and depositing them directly into the trash bin near the inside of the door. He missed the awed look that crossed Bella's face.

"Tell Isabella I'll speak to her later." Edward growled out in frustration.

"You can tell our dad why you're harassing and stalking her if you'd rather." Paul hissed, drawing Edward's attention off of Jared. He watched with some satisfaction as Edward paled considerably.

Paul smirked while Sam and Jared snickered. "That's what I thought cock sucker. See, Bella won't say it. But I will, and I did. Our dad is pissed at you. Now leave. her. alone. I'm trying to be the bigger person here, so the next time I see you near my sister, your ass is fish bait. Don't fuck with my family again."

Before Edward could say a word the door was slammed in his face. His fists were balled in anger as he tried to think of a way to knock on the door and not have to deal with any of the Neanderthals inside. Smirking as he thought of an idea that just may well work, Edward sent a text message to his sister. Within twenty minutes, Alice was walking off the elevator of the fourth floor.

"I thought she had enough sense to not move back to this dump!" Alice sniffed when she finally came to Bella's door.

Edward nodded. "Tell me about it. It's no place for my future wife, that's for sure." He sighed.

"You should have known she'd allow her friends to influence her." Alice said condescendingly. "Why did you even cheat on her in the FIRST place?!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Just knock on the door, Alice. I haven't got all day. I have a court appearance to make tomorrow and I still have to gather the rest of my notes for the case."

It was Alice's turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever. You owe me big time." She said raising her hand to knock on the door.

"Oh HONESTLY!" Bella huffed when the knocking started again. She looked through the peephole and groaned. "Why'd he have to think SHE would be able to get me into the hallway?!" She whined.

Paul and Sam shared a look. "Alice." They deadpanned.

Jared grinned. "Allow me." He told her as his hands went to her hair.

She squealed in displeasure when she felt him muse her hair, ruffling it and generally undoing all her hard work to tame it. He merely kissed the tip of her nose and moved on to ruffling her shirt. He turned quickly to Sam and Paul and motioned for them to turn a game on and quietly told them to start cheering or hollering at whoever was playing. It wasn't hard- it was one of their favorite teams. When they were distracted, Jared stepped into Bella's personal space and pressed his lips to hers.

The sudden contact of his warm lips against hers left her almost instantly breathless. Her arms moved to his neck and his hands moved to her waist. She gasped when she felt the tip of his tongue swipe across her bottom lip, seeking permission inside her mouth. It was granted mere seconds later and a battle for dominance was quickly won by Jared. He let loose a quiet groan when the door was knocked on again.

"There." He mused pulling away just slightly. With every word said, their lips just barely touched. "Now you look thoroughly kissed." He grinned.

Bella looked away and bit her lip shyly. "Tease." She muttered.

"You liked it." He whispered in her ear before wrapping his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder when the door was opened.

"Can I help you Alice?" Bella wondered, secretly very pleased to see open shock dancing over the other woman's features.

Alice stared at the pair in front of her blankly for a moment. "Um, hi… Bella. Look I know you don't want to see me right now, but I was wondering if I could have a word with you. In private."

"I don't think… hmm quit that Jay…I don't think that's such a good idea right now Alice." Bella tried hard to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head as Jared's lips found and teased the sensitive skin of her neck.

Jared smirked at Alice and moved to nip Bella's earlobe. "Don't keep me waiting." He muttered loud enough for Alice to hear. She had no idea it was staged.

"Who was that Bella? Was that the neighbor I met a few months ago?" Alice wondered.

"He's a friend Alice. His name is Jared. And he's a friend of mine." Bella sighed.

"Looked a little more than just friendly. And who else is in there?" She wondered when she heard cheering and booing coming from the living room.

Bella growled. "That's NONE of your concern. Now, what did you want?!" She huffed.

"I-I I just wanted to talk to you…" Alice was taken aback by Bella's blunt anger and hostility.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Like I said, it's not the best time. I have friends and family over. As a matter of fact there IS someone you can talk to… hey Paul… come here for a sec." She called.

Paul stood and knocked Jared in the back of the head before walking over to his sister. He smirked when Jared cursed under his breath. "What's up Bella?"

"You remember Alice right? Edwards sister?" Bella asked with a raised eyebrow.

Paul grinned. "OH! Right… stalker pixie bitch!"

"EXCUSE YOU?!" Alice hissed. Edward quickly moved to her side from his place behind one of the carved out sections of the wall.

Paul arched an eyebrow. "You heard me. I found out from a very trusted source that you've been stalking my sister when she goes out at night before reporting back to your brother. The next time I find out about it, you'll have papers sent to you in the mail to appear in court for stalking and harassment. As for you limp dick. I told you, you fuck with my sister again, you're going to seriously regret it. Now, KINDLY get away from my sisters doorstep and let her get back to her toy boy sitting on the couch." He said before slamming the door in their faces. Edward and Alice were left shell shocked and speechless. They honestly didn't know what to think and it was a good five minutes before they even tried to move towards the elevator to leave.

"Paul!" Bella hissed in embarrassment as she followed him into the living room again.

Paul and Sam laughed. "What? After that little display that you two think you got away with? Nuh uh! You better pray nothing slips to Lee or Em." He teased making Jared shift uncomfortably.

They were forgetting that Bella could be just as dangerous. "So it'll be ok to tell Leah and Emily about the set of twins that I saw hitting on you while you were getting lunch the other day? You remember the two… blonde, busty, practically BEGGING to be taken in the open with their asses all over your laps while you ate?" She asked with crossed arms and an arched eyebrow. "I wonder how your women would feel when I let it slip that it took ME saying something to make them go the hell away? Hm?"

"You wouldn't… please… Bella… please… I'd never hear the end of it!" Paul whined. Jared was stunned. Not only had she not caved, but she had Paul acting like a scolded child without having ever yelled once.

Sam shook his head. "Come on Bella. You know Paul was just trying to get a one up on you. He's sorry… aren't you Paul?! Please don't say anything." He tried to soothe her. Paul nodded his head to show he agreed he was sorry for saying anything.

Bella squared her shoulders before glaring at the two. "You'd do well to remember that just because I teach second graders doesn't mean that I don't know how to deal with the likes of you!" She huffed. "As for you…" She wagged her finger in Jared's face with a playful smirk on her lips. "Thank you for helping me get rid of Alice. I'm sure she was shocked to see the hands on display but if you've left a mark on my neck, so help me, I'll skin you alive!" She threatened.

Jared could only nod his head in agreement. He was careful to not move too much. Her brother was sitting close by and he was honest to goodness extremely aroused. He'd never seen the dominant, feisty side of Bella, but to himself, he admitted he loved it. He only hoped he'd get a chance to see it again sometime soon.


	8. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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(December)

Jared sighed as he watched his latest customer walk out the door of their shop. Two hours listening to the woman prattle on about how gorgeous he was had him almost at his wits end. She was at least twice his age, and very obviously married too. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard snickers behind him and rolled his eyes at Sam. Paul was out to lunch with Leah and had left them in the store alone for an hour so at least it wasn't both of them. He shot his friend a half hearted glare and shook his head.

"What's the matter Jay? You look a little annoyed." Sam teased.

"Should I call Bella?" He pressed.

"I have **no** clue what you're talking about Sam. She's off limits, remember?" Jared grumbled. He almost wished Sam was still on his weekend trip with Emily. The two had decided they were taking Billy up on his offer for the use of his family cabin in a more remote part of the La Push reservation after their wedding last week and they just gotten back two days ago. Already Jared was ready to bang his head through a glass mirror. Sam was almost worse than Paul in his efforts to hook him up with Bella.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Tell that to her! That woman is crazy about you Jay." He huffed.

Jared shook his head in denial. "Not a chance in hell she sees me that way. Besides, even if I did… I can't do anything about it. Paul would kill me!" The two never noticed Paul walking through the back door for the last part of the conversation.

"I would kill you for what?" Paul asked making him jump slightly.

Sam laughed. "For admitting he likes your sister."

"Sam!" Jared hissed before turning to Paul. "She's a friend." He sighed.

Sam snickered. "Not what I heard from Emily. She told me a very interesting story while we were in the cabin. It seems to me you two have gotten really close if what Leah told her is to be believed."

"No… we're seriously just friends. And before you say it, that whole kissing display last month was just that… an effort to help a FRIEND out. And it worked. Now please, can we get to work?" Jared said with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes.

Paul rolled his own eyes. "When are you going to stop trying to feed me that line of bullshit? Jay, I say this as your friend… you've got the hots for my sister… and I'm cool with it."

Jared spluttered and almost dropped his tattoo gun. "W-wh-what? N-not even. She's a f-friend."

"Uh huh… and pigs can fly too." Sam snickered sharing a look with Paul. They both gave him props for trying to honor the 'bro code' but they could tell how much it was killing him to behave himself too. And Bella was even worse. She became shy and would barely make eye contact with him when Jared was anywhere near her.

Paul merely rolled his eyes and placed bags of food down on the table along the back wall. "Leah and Emily send their love. And Bella said to say hi Jay."

"She was there with them?" Jared asked a little too interested in the answer.

Sam merely smirked. "See… you care too much about where she is, what she's doing and what she says. Just admit you want to fuck her and get it over with. Paul doesn't care. I don't care. We just don't want the details."

Paul huffed and threw an ink pen at Sam's head. "That IS my sister, Sam. Don't be so crude." He warned.

Jared shook his head at Sam and sighed. "How did you ever get Emily to date you?" He mused.

Sam laughed. "I was playing Paul. If that's all Jared was after I'd have beat his ass a long time ago- best friend or not. I think of Bella as family. As it stands, they're probably the ones I trust the most in a room alone together. As for getting Emily to date me… Leah did all the work filling my girls head with all the good deeds I'd done. Half of them were bullshit that she called me on from the start. The rest is all me baby!"

A few minutes passed in silence while they ate their lunches. If there was one thing they could admit, the girls could definitely cook. There were times that Jared wondered why Bella hadn't gone into business with Leah and Emily, but then he got to see her eyes light up when she would talk about her class and how proud she was of them. Maybe trying to date her wouldn't be so bad after all.

"So… would you really not kill me if I asked Bella out?" Jared finally asked when they had thrown the last of their food away.

Paul and Sam smirked. "Bout time you fucker. I thought you'd never grow the balls to ask her."

Jared was shocked. "Seriously?! That's all you're going to say?"

"What do you want me to tell you Jay? The woman likes you, you like her… what's the problem?" Paul shrugged.

Jared only shook his head. "I guess I thought you'd threaten to beat my ass or something." He said with a shrug.

"Call me giving you permission to date Bella an early birthday present if you will." Paul teased.

Jared rolled his eyes. "You fucker. My birthday isn't until the 31st. And please, don't tell the girls. I don't want them fussing over it." He warned them.

Paul smirked. "Bella wouldn't fuss over it. She'd just do something special for you."

"So… you're really ok with me asking her out?" He checked to make sure.

Sam chuckled. "You two have been tip toeing around one another for the last month and a half. Probably longer than that if we're being honest with ourselves. The sexual tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. And lets not forget that she THOROUGHLY enjoyed that little display you put on for Alice and Edward at her front door.

I mean come on… you had the balls to kiss her while Paul was in the same apartment but you can't ask her out… stop being a pussy bro. And don't try to play that it was just a kiss... that wasn't JUST a little kiss on the lips, that was you staking a claim. And you know it. So do we."

Paul glowered at Sam. "Just treat her right. That's all I ask. She's had her fair share of idiot ex boyfriends… but damn even I can admit for some reason she likes you. So I'm cool with it. Just don't fuck with her emotions. I'd hate to lose a best friend and have to beat your ass."

"You know… I really thought you were going to try and kick my ass for even thinking about her like that." Jared mused. "The both of you actually."

They shared a laugh. "We know you. I grew up with you. It's not like you'd try to intentionally hurt her. And my good word for you was all it took to have half the male population in La Push from wanting to kick your scrawny ass." Sam teased. Paul snorted and tried not to cough while he swallowed his food.

"I'm not THAT scrawny! I'm only a few inches shorter than you, Paul!" Jared huffed, grumbling good naturedly.

Paul snickered. "Yeah, but next to the jolly green giant that is my cousin, Jacob Black, all three of us are scrawny. The boy was pushing 6'8" by the time he was 18." He said with his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"We're all giants compared to fuckward though. I find that hilarious." Jared mused. "I saw the fucker outside our building the other day. He took one look at me and almost RAN the opposite direction."

Sam and Paul guffawed. "Oh I would have paid to see that!" Sam crowed.

"Oh yeah… it was hilarious. Guess it's a good thing I had the wits about me to record it, huh?" Jared's eyes were filled with mirth as he pulled the short video clip of Edward running away from him up on his phone.

Paul's eyes widened in anticipation. "Let me see!" He grinned, his mouth practically salivating to see the video.

They shared a laugh, playing the video four more times before the bell sounding over the door brought them out of the back. Paul grinned when he saw a man standing by one of the counters looking at some of his sisters' drawings- ironically the ones Jared had convinced her to let them use. Jared stopped in his tracks when he saw him. It couldn't be.

"Hey man, what can we do for you today?" Paul asked, his smile friendly and his voice at ease. He was a natural charmer when he wanted to be.

"I'm looking for something to surprise my girlfriend with. We've been together for a while now… but I don't want names. And nothing too overly girly. I kind of want it to relate to us though. Ya know?" He told him.

Paul nodded. "Yeah, names… they can be tricky. Gotta be really sure." He grinned. "Take a look at the stuff on the walls, if you see something, let one of us know." He said before turning back to the counter.

Sam noticed Jared's face pale and his fists clench in an unprovoked rage. His brows furrowed when he followed his friends gaze. It landed right on their customer. It took a split second to realize that this was the guy from the pictures he had seen in college. His eyes widened in realization and he nudged Paul to get his attention. He nodded to Jared and motioned for him to get him to the back. They'd never turn a customer away, but he'd be damned if he'd make his friend suffer through his presence.

"Jo must have said something!" Jared seethed.

Paul was only slightly confused. "Who?"

"The girl you inked a while back…the 15 year old who screamed my name when I walked through the door. It was my ex fiancé's kid sister. She must have said something to her… it's the ONLY reason he'd come in here. They all live in Seattle still." Jared said quietly, his anger gone.

Paul's eyes widened in realization. "Oh dude… I'm so sorry. I never knew. You should have SAID something when I was inking her!"

"I would have thought the whole screaming my name thing would have been a hint enough she knew me." Jared teased.

Paul shrugged. "You know me. I zone out. I found it weird but honestly, I forgot about it. So who is that dude in relation to you?"

Sam sighed. "That's the fucker who took Kim from him." He only nodded when Paul's eyes widened in shock.

"Son of a bitch. Damn, Jay… I'm so sorry dude." Paul didn't know what else to say.

"Alright, come on, it's cool. Time to man up." Jared sighed before heading back out front keeping his face down and his back turned; he was trying to appear busy while wanting to hear everything said all at the same time. He smiled and nodded to Sam to let him know it was alright. He knew that business meant money and money meant that he got paid. It also meant that Sam was buying him a beer later on.

"So, did you find something that speaks to you yet?" Paul asked walking back over.

"I'm not sure. These drawing are amazing. I love the detail in these dragons."

Jared raised an eyebrow. So his ex best friend was looking at his work now. He didn't know if he should be pleased or offended. He merely rolled his eyes at Sam and Paul; they both had to fight back snickers.

"So does your girlfriend like dragons?" Paul wondered.

"Yeah, she's really into those Chinese looking ones. The ones that look like they have all the feathers and stuff."

Paul nodded. "So something like this?" He asked pointing to a few on the wall.

"Yeah! That one!" He said pointing to a pair of dragons intertwined together with a cherry blossom held in between their front claws. "Man, I could swear… this stuff looks so familiar. A really good friend of mine used to draw stuff like this all the time."

"Oh yeah? One of our guys is really into dragons. He drew most of these, lets us use em." Paul smiled when Jared preened. "Come on back this way lets get you on the table."

"Yeah, he was like a brother to me at one time."

"Show me where you want this done." Paul nodded when an area on his chest was pointed to. "What happened? He move away?"

"No… we had a falling out. Got into a fight over a girl. It was kind of messed up. I hooked up with her… he liked her too. I guess it pissed him off that she wanted me."

Paul heard Jared snort but he refrained from saying anything himself. "Sounds like you guys aren't friends anymore… you still talk to the girl?" He asked while beginning to stencil the tattoo onto the skin.

"She's going to marry me. I want to do right by her and the baby we're gonna have. I guess she's the only one in her family who is happy about it though… her kid sister hates me… and her mom won't even speak to me unless my girl is in the room too. It's a little un nerving sometimes."

Paul paused and pretended to fiddle with the ink he needed. He listened to Sam trying to get Jared outside before a fist sized hole ended up in the wall. "Well, I can't give you any advice. I've never been in that situation. I think she'll get a thrill out of the tattoo though." Somehow Paul knew that the girl he had inked would recognize the artist behind that tattoo right away. Nothing else was said as Paul worked, though he noticed that Sam came back into the shop alone. All that was said was that Jay went home early… his stomach was upset. Paul merely nodded.

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Bella had just stepped onto the fourth floor when a weary looking Jared walked off the elevator. He barely even noticed her when they bumped shoulders- not that she was paying much attention either as she was rechecking the list held in her hands for the fourth time over. She squealed when she felt her balance teetering and braced herself for a fall only to realize that Jared had his arm around her waist to steady her. Her eyes widened when she saw the tears in his eyes.

"Jared?! What's wrong honey?" She cooed. "Did something happen to Paul or Sam?"

Jared shook his head and swallowed hard before he enveloped her into a tight hug. He didn't want to admit that hearing his one time best friend tell Paul that Kim was pregnant AND engaged again cut him to the quick. "I… I… work… bad day." He tried to tell her with shaky breaths.

"Alright. Come on hon." She began walking down the hall and stopped in front of her apartment door.

"You sure you wanna sit with me Bella? I'm not the best company right now." He tried to warn her.

Bella brushed him off. "Don't even try that. You've seen me in tears a few times now, Jay. Come on. We're gonna sit down with a tall glass of one of my three favorite men…" She insisted as she unlocked her door and dragged him inside with her.

Jared raised an eyebrow. "And who would those men happen to be?" He admitted he was curious. He was thinking along the lines of actors and she would be subjecting him to a movie marathon on her couch. Then again, she said a tall glass of one of three men.

"Jim, Jack or Captain Morgan. Pick your poison sweetie." Bella mused when she took him by the hand and led him down the hall to her kitchen.

"Really… whiskey or rum. I thought you were talking about your favorite actors or something. I mean, isn't that what women do when they're upset… sit down and watch chick flicks with tubs of ice cream?" Jared replied almost sheepishly. He never would have guessed that she would chase away the bad memories with a drink or two. He learned something new about her every time they talked it seemed.

Bella threw her head back and laughed heartily. "Oh honey. I was raised around men- well mostly. Even Leah and Emily very seldom demand to watch a 'chick flick' when they're upset. All that sappy romance just makes me sick- and when I'm already in a mood to cry? Nope. I'll take a drink over a chick flick any way." She said using air quotes.

Jared smiled slightly. "Should have figured. You're so not the typical teacher. At least not what I would have pictured for a teacher." He admitted. "Besides… didn't your mom tell you that women watched chick flicks when they were upset?"

She shook her head. "She tried. I'm just too much like my dad. I never did that whole… soap opera, whining crying gig. It's not my style. I'd rather be outside playing football or soccer on the beach. It's the one thing my dad hated about me growing up. Most of my friends were guys… and Paul and Jacob both taught me about cars and how to fight when I was little… soo… I'm something of a tomboy too. But that's enough about me. We're here to make YOU feel better! Now, come on. You should know me by now. I'm the atypical teacher, remember?"

He chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think I've told you that a time or two." He agreed.

"Well good. At least we can agree on that. You've got to get this image you have of me as little miss sweet and innocent out of your head. One of these days you're going to be disappointed when I turn out to be the opposite of how you picture me in your head." She teased.

Jared rolled his eyes. "Not at all." He didn't want to admit he already HAD pictured her in his head… just in not so many clothes as she was wearing now.

"Ok, we're going to play a game." She smirked breaking the growing silence between them.

Jared arched an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"Nope." She promised while popping the p. "We're going to play 20 questions. You're going to ask me something, I'm going to answer. And in between, we'll drink and forget about your crappy day at work. So pick your poison." She cajoled.

He took a moment to appraise her body as she presented her backside to him. The pin stripe pants she wore displayed each and every curve of her long shapely legs to him perfectly. He groaned when the white sweater top she had on rose to show off a sliver of her gorgeously lightly tanned skin. The blood in his body was pooling rapidly into his dick and he had to shift his stance to try and relive some of the pressure he felt as they began to feel too tight. He bit the inside of his cheek to quell the groan that wanted to escape. Two could play this game.

Jared smirked. "If I have to, I choose Jack." He whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear as she reached for two shot glasses down from the cabinet behind her.

Bella gasped quietly and closed her eyes as jolts of electricity traveled down her spine. "R-right. Have a seat on the couch, I'm going to go get changed out of these clothes and get into something comfy." She muttered. She flushed when he muttered not to take to long and walked down the hallway with the shot glasses and the bottle of jack in his hands. She inhaled sharply and made her way to her room to get changed. If everything went as planned, she'd be closer to him tonight than she had ever been, and she honestly couldn't wait.


	9. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

This is a direct continuation of the last chapter. I wanted to combine the two… but it would have been too long. So… enjoy. Wonder what's gonna happen . Bella… Jared… and a bottle of jack… hmmm .

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Chapter 8

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(December)

Once she was in her room, she leaned against her door and tried to calm her already frazzled nerves. '_Down woman. This is to cheer him up_!' She hissed to herself.

She quickly changed into a tight spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of sweat pants that hung low on her hips. She found Jared relaxing on her couch with one leg stretched out the length of the cushions and the other bent at a slight angle resting against the back of the couch. She shook her head and smiled. He had taken her advice and made himself at home.

"Ready to play?" She asked. She mimicked his position on the opposite side of the couch after pouring herself a shot of amber liquid.

"You have no idea." He muttered while nodding. It wasn't as low as he had hoped and Bella smiled when she heard it, though she didn't comment.

Bella smiled. "You can start then. I know it was my idea, but… I need a moment to think of something. My brain is still on school time. I can only say I'm happy it's finally winter break."

"Aww… kids getting to you." He mocked her playfully.

She rolled her eyes at him and playfully punched his arm- the part she could reach at least, and that was nothing more than his forearm. "No, just some of the teachers. I hate the looks I get. They all know by now that I have an obsessed ex by now. If it's not pity, it's worry. A week of peace and quiet among friends and family will do me some good."

Jared smiled. "I see. Well… hmmm… something easy then to start things off. What's your favorite color?" He asked.

Bella smirked. "It changes from day to day."

"Well today?" He cajoled.

Bella nibbled her bottom lip. "I'd have to say… green. A deep forest green." She mused. She didn't want to tell him it was because he was always wearing green and it did wonders to compliment his skin tone.

"What's your favorite food?" She asked him.

Jared laughed. " I'm not picky. But I love anything that involves seafood. If you give me shrimp or crab meat, I'm a lover for life." He teased. "What's your favorite type of music?"

Bella grinned. "I listen to a lot of different stuff. Alternative, rock, classic rock, techno, some country. Nothing rap or hip hop- Mariah Carey being the ONLY exception." She told him matter of factually.

"Is that so?" He teased.

"Oh indeed. The woman is a vocal genius. But that's neither here nor there." She said pausing to throw back the rest of her glass of Jim Beam. "Where's your favorite place to be?"

Jared grinned. "First beach right after a huge thunder storm. It's amazing." He grinned again when she nodded in agreement. "What's your favorite memory?"

Bella snickered. "I terrified Becca and Rachel when we were kids. I guess they were 16 or so… I was 13 maybe 14. They had been picking on me for not being interested in make up like a 'real girl' so…I waited for them to fall asleep before letting Jacobs' pet snake loose in their room. In the morning I guess he was curled up on one of the girls' beds. All anyone heard was screaming and then all anyone saw was two girls running out of the house in tears."

Jared guffawed. "I remember Sam telling me about that. He had heard it from Leah. The girls were so traumatized they slept with Leah in her house for a week."

Bella nodded. "Mhmm. And I didn't have to sleep on a sleeping bag in the middle of the room for that week either." She snickered.

Jared shook his head. "Wow. Even back then you were an evil genius." He teased.

"Yeah, yeah… What's your biggest fear?" She asked him. She leaned over to get another shot of Jack and slid closer as she sat back down again.

Jared smiled fondly at her antics. The smile was replaced by a deep frown as Bella watched and waited for his answer. "I guess it would be that I won't be good enough for the next girl I try to offer my heart to." He said with a small shrug. "I've got so much baggage… I mean… Kim left me for my best friend. She never said what was wrong… and now… she's engaged and pregnant. Am I really that bad?"

"Jay…" Bella let out a sigh and shook her head gently. "That girl worked you over pretty good huh… If I ever meet her, I'll gladly give her a piece of my mind." She squeezed his forearm in a comforting manner and smiled sadly. "And no… there's nothing wrong with you. You're amazing."

Jared laughed. Her statement perked his mood up some. "Thanks Bella. Tell me what the best present you ever received was instead of what you're gonna say to my ex." He asked with a grin.

Bella giggled. "Jacob made me a charm bracelet when I graduated high school. Embry and Quil made a couple charms each for it as well. I still have it, just don't wear it all the time anymore now that it's older." She grinned.

Jared watched her watching him as twin patches of rose started to blossom across her cheeks. He had to stop himself from cupping her face and bringing her closer for a kiss. Instead he settled on sitting closer, running his fingers absentmindedly against her skin every so often.

Bella's breath hitched. "What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for a girl on a date?"

"I took Kim to her favorite restaurant after we'd been dating for a long while. She had no idea what I was going to do when after I paid the bill, I got down on one knee in a crowded room and asked her to marry me. I had invited our families too, so even though she didn't know they were there, I did." Jared sighed. "I gave her my grandmothers engagement ring. She had always admired it… and my grandmother told me to save it for the right woman. I thought that was Kim…guess not." He offered a small smile and a one shouldered shrug.

Bella scooted close enough that she could lean against him comfortably and kissed his cheek. She was now laying between him and the back of the couch with her head resting on his shoulder. To the world outside, they would have been the prefect couple, cuddling together and talking. She wished they could be that.

"It's never easy…letting go of your first love. But… I've learned that with Paul and Sam as friends, you tend to forget a lot faster. And Leah and Emily can help you there too honey." She told him with a smile.

She smiled and blushed at him when he did nothing more than stare at her. "Your turn.." She reminded him gently.

"If you could change one thing physically about yourself, what would it be?" He asked, his eyes traveling over her body.

Bella sighed and chuckled. He was trying to perk himself up by changing the depth of the questions. She almost giggled. "My height. I'm too short." She whined.

"I think you're perfect babe." He smirked at her. He never noticed the pet name that slipped out, or the blush that graced her cheeks because of his slip up.

"What's your most embarrassing moment to date?" She asked resting her chin on his chest when she shifted her body to lay more comfortably against his own. She mentally smiled, all she would have to do was crawl up and she would be sitting easily in his lap.

Jared let out a deep husky chuckle that rumbled within his chest. "Oh man… go for the jugular why don't you." He teased. "Let's see… I was either 14 or 15 at the time… and it was after school. My friend had come over and we had somehow ended up watching porn on my lap top… leave it to my mom to just burst into the room claiming that it was too quiet… poor woman got an eyeful of her son and his best friend jacking off to some rail thin blonde with implants."

Bella let loose a peal of laughter while Jared ran his fingers through her hair. "Poor woman indeed. I'm so glad Paul and I had respected each others privacy. I don't think I'd be as close to him if I had had to suffer through that. Thankfully I understand the meaning of a closed and locked door."

"Yeah, well my door wasn't locked. We didn't think my mom would be home early… my buddy refused to come over when she was home for like a month. And then every so often she would tease the hell out of us." He admitted. Bella smirked.

"What's your favorite smell? You always have a different scented candle lit in here." He wondered.

"Hm… I'm not too picky, so long as it's soothing and smells good. But overall, it's a toss up between five: Sandalwood, Lavender, Cinnamon, Vanilla or Cherry Blossoms. Take a pick." She mused.

"Would you think me odd if I said I like none of the above unless I'm around you?" He wondered.

"Not really. Most men I know don't like 'girly scents'" She said using air quotes for emphasis. He nodded sighing in relief causing her to giggle. "What's the craziest thing you've ever been asked to do and DID?"

Jared laughed and shifted slightly so she fell more easily into his lap without either of them noticing. "I got dared by my friends- Sam included- in college to streak across the campus screaming 'I'm too sexy' after getting drunk at a party. I don't remember a thing about it, I just saw the video. I was hit on for quite a few weeks by women AND men after that."

Bella shook her head. "That would have been a sight to see I'm sure." She teased. "Wouldn't that count as an embarrassing moment though, instead of a crazy one?"

Jared shrugged. "I wasn't bothered by it. Well, maybe a little- guys hitting on me was the creepy part." He said taking another shot of whiskey, shivering when it burned his throat slightly. "But I've had more embarrassing moments, as you just found out about, so no… it was just a crazy college stunt." He said with a grin.

Bella merely giggled. Her fingers were skimming along his abs without either of them really knowing or saying anything about it.

"Do you remember your dreams?" He asked her after a brief spell of silence.

Bella moved her fingers up his stomach and drew random patters on his tank top clad chest lightly with her index finger. "Sometimes. Not a lot… I remember the more… interesting ones." She said with a feint blush.

Jared raised an eyebrow. "Care to share one?" He teased.

She ran her tongue ring over her top teeth and shook her head as a blush spread over her face and neck." N-not really… they're kind of uh… p-personal." She said shakily.

He grew bold and began trailing one of his hands from her shoulder down her back to the swell of her pert little bottom before moving back up to her shoulder again. "Personal huh?"

She nodded and shifted, gasping quietly when she felt him hard and needy against her lower stomach. A chance look into his eyes found them smoldering with desire. "What's the biggest lie you ever told someone?" She asked before quickly taking a shot. She inwardly hissed at herself and called herself a coward for not just leaning up and kissing him.

Jared grinned, having seen the deep chocolate pools of desire in her eyes before she asked him her question. "I told Kim that I would never think about her again." He said with a small smile.

"I'm so sorry, Jay." She told him, her fingers tracing over a dragon tattoo on his bicep. "Here I am trying to help, and all I do is ask questions to make you think about it again."

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault." He let his fingers just brush under her tank top straps before moving back down her spine. "So what's the longest relationship you've been in to date?"

Bella knocked her shot back and sighed. "Four years. I went through four years of being a Stepford Wife for Edward Anthony Cullen." She said with a sigh.

"Damn, now I feel like an ass. I didn't mean to make you think about him babe, I'm sorry." He told her laying a kiss to the crown of her head.

Bella smiled and ran her hands over his tank top, her fingers brushing over his nipple ring gently causing a groan to escape his lips as his body shuddered lightly. She jerked in response. "What, did something happen? Did I hurt you?" She panicked.

"N-no… no it uh… it felt good… it's sensitive…" He tried to tell her without giving away that he wanted her to do it again.

She grinned at him as her fingers brushed over the ring again causing his hips to raise as he squirmed under her slightly. She bit her lip to keep the moan she wanted to release quelled. "If you knew then what you do now, would you still do some of the things you've done?"

Jared thought about it as his hand continued to travel over the length of her lithe frame, his fingers dipping just below the line of her sweat pants briefly before making their way back up to her shoulders. "A few things, yeah. Keeping Kim around? No I wouldn't have- I kind of always suspected something was going on, I just didn't question it. She would have stayed a one night stand. Keeping John around? Not a chance in hell… he would have been gone too. Meeting Sam and Paul again in college? Yup… they're my best friends. Meeting Paul's baby sister? Definitely."

Bella grinned and looked up at him. "Yeah?"

It was Jared's turn to grin. "Yeah. I've definitely enjoyed getting to know you Bella." He smirked when she blushed and tried to burry her face in his chest. He tilted her chin up to look at him and ran his thumb over her lips. "If you could go back to the past for just one day… where would you go?"

Bella's lips parted slightly so that just the tip of his thumb fell into her mouth to be met by her tongue. She could only guess that the whiskey had pushed aside her inhibitions and allowed her to become more playful and flirty. Her eyelashes fluttered before she moved to lay an open mouthed kiss to his palm. She didn't miss the sharp intake of breath or the quiet whine when her lips left his flesh. She didn't miss the gulp when she moved closer to him, her thigh brushing against his near throbbing dick.

Instead, she answered him as if she was completely unaware she was slowly driving him insane with need. "I'd probably go back to around 1880's or so. It was after the Quileute reservation was created, but there was still a sense of… I don't know… spirit. Sounds stupid I know… but… I think I would want to live in a time when people still cared a great deal for one another. You know?"

It took him a few minutes to form a coherent thought before he nodded at her. "Paul always joked about how his sister had an old soul. It makes sense. But you know… women didn't have that much freedom back then. They had to take care of their families while men were able to leave for days on end." He whispered huskily.

Bella smiled. "I know that. But I like taking care of people as it is." She said as she rolled her hips to his in a seemingly innocent manner, trying to get comfortable. Jared bit his bottom lip as his hands moved to her waist lightly. She looked down at him and smiled.

"What do you look for in a girlfriend?" She asked laying her head on his shoulder.

His eyes closed as he counted backwards from ten. The woman was trying to kill him. She was so innocently sexy without even trying. And the way her body was moving on his, there was no way she missed his body's reaction to hers. But she hadn't pointed out the obvious yet. And with that realization, came the next one. Every woman he looked at since he had met her, and started getting to know her, was compared to her. He licked his suddenly dry lips before trying to answer.

"Honesty, sincerity, loyalty, charm, playfulness, she's got to be someone I can just talk to about my day without her judging me. She'll be someone I can turn to no matter what, and someone who would always have my back. Someone I can think of as my best friend. And she'd have to not be clingy and demanding of my time." He wondered if she would guess he was describing her sooner rather than later.

Bella smiled up at him, her tongue slipping out to wet her bottom lip. "Is that all?"

"Isn't it enough that she'd put up with me?" He teased.

To that, she giggled. "I guess." She conceded.

"What's the worst pick up line you've heard from a guy?" He asked his hands traveling over her body again, teasing goose bumps from her flesh at each brush of skin on skin.

Bella giggled as she thought about it. "It's not a line per se…" She started. Her eyes fluttered close as a small moan left her lips when his fingers danced over the inch or so of bare skin at her waist.

"Yeah? Care to tell me?" He smirked.

She nodded at him. "Sure…um…" She shivered and moved her hips against his when his fingers caressed the same patch of sensitive skin. He fought back the urge to grind his hips into hers as he watched her.

"So um…I was out drinking with Leah and Emily. A guy came up to us, asked us what we did for work after making small talk. Emily told him I was a teacher. He asked me for a dance, then told me that he had a ruler in his pocket that I could use before grinding against my backside. He then asked me if I wanted to practice my ABC's and told me he would have me screaming by the time I hit letter O."

Jared had to laugh. "Oh wow… that's kind of bad actually." He said shaking his head. "I think I'd be embarrassed to admit a guy was a friend of mine if I'd heard any of them telling a woman that."

Bella grinned. "It was kind of bad. I'm ashamed to admit I egged him on a little."

He raised his eyebrow at her, swallowing another shot of liquid fire. "And what did you do to encourage him then, Ms. Swan?"

She giggled before finally moving so that her knees were on either side of his hips and she was sitting completely in his lap. "I asked him if he wanted a detention with me." She whispered with her lips brushing the shell of his ear.

Jared's eyes closed as he gulped audibly. "I'm sure he did. Did you give him detention?"

"Not at all…for one thing, he wasn't my type, and he was far more drunk than I was for another. So I told him to picture me on his date with his right hand later that night and walked away." She gasped when he moved her hips that much higher against his own so their bodies all but melded together.

Jared shook his head. "Every time I think I have you figured out, Ms. Swan, you throw me for another loop."

Bella smirked and dragged her nails gently through his hair, scratching the back of his neck lightly. He shuddered in the pleasure he received from that one act. "Who's the prettiest girl you've ever met Jared?"

Their faces were mere inches apart as he moved one of his hands from her waist to the back of her neck. "Isn't that one obvious?" He asked as his eyes searched hers.

"Should it be?" She retorted, her eyes closing as his hands cradled her head gently.

"It's you, Bella." He whispered before hungrily pressing his mouth to hers.

Bella gasped into the kiss, her hips grinding harshly into his. She was so close to the edge, all she needed was that something extra to push her over. She groaned when she felt his hands run over her chest, feeling her though the material of her shirt. Her mouth was torn from his as her head tilted backward. Jared took it as an invitation to attack the skin of her neck with his lips. He smirked against the silky column her flesh when she all but whimpered his name.

"Damn woman. You're so sexy. Do you honestly know what you do to me?" He whispered into her ear. "I think about you, every night almost, how you'd feel under me. How you'd look riding me. What it would feel like to be behind you…inside of you… to fuck you until you scream my name… until you can't scream anymore." His husky voice wove through her body, sending shock waves of pleasure directly to her already throbbing pussy.

Her body shuddered as she exploded against him. "Jared…" She whimpered pressing her hips harder against his. She watched him in awe of the gorgeous specimen of male beneath her as he followed her over the edge without having laid a single hand on him.

When their breathing had calmed down, they both shared a laugh. "It's uh… I haven't… wow… I feel like a teenager all over again." He muttered.

Bella blushed while trying to bury her face into his shirt. "Yeah… I uh… that's a first for me… I've never… done something like that." She admitted.

He tilted her chin up and ran his thumb over her lips and out to brush her cheek. "Go out with me this weekend. We can head over to Bremerton for the day… there's an ice skating rink…I know you said you wanted to do that…we could get some lunch and then come back here for dinner and a movie…" He trailed off suddenly bashful.

Bella grinned up at him. "I think it sounds perfect, Jay. I haven't gone ice skating in a while though, so… promise not to laugh at me?"

He smiled and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Never. I'll catch you before you fall." He promised before bringing her lips down to his.

"And what happens if you fall first?" She teased.

Jared smirked. "I guess I'll just have to be your cushion." He teased back. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment... I uh... can I use your bathroom?" He asked her shyly. He grinned when she merely pointed down the hallway.

Bella laughed. "You know something? I think you and I are going to get along just fine." She teased when he sat back down.

"I think we already do get along just fine." He snickered. He only prayed that she was falling just as hard for him as he was for her.

Bella yawned and leaned her head against his shoulder. She turned the TV on and they settled on watching a marathon of Ink Master. "Sleep." It was the last thing either of them said as they succumbed to their bodies' demands for rest.

It was an hour later when Paul and Sam came to check on Jared. When they got no response from him, the figured he was talking to Bella. Upon entering her apartment, their eyebrows furrowed. Her TV was on, but no other sounds were coming from the living room, the kitchen or her bedroom. "Dude… what the hell?" Paul muttered.

Sam snickered and pointed over the back of the couch. Paul couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. Bella was sleeping sprawled out on top of Jared with her face pressed into his neck. His arm was draped gently around her waist while the other one was covering her hand that rested on his chest. "Soon enough one of us is going to inking his neck or chest with her name." He teased nudging Paul lightly.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Maybe. All I know is he's a lot better than the limp dick." He sighed.

Sam nodded. "Come on. We can tease them tomorrow. Jay went through a lot having to listen to that ass talk about 'the love of his life.'"

He stopped and pulled his phone out. "Em will kill me if I don't show her any kind of evidence."

"Come to think of it, so will Lee Lee." Paul smirked pulling his own phone out to take a picture of the two. He shook his head and turned her TV off before covering them with a blanket. He rolled his eyes when Sam raised an eyebrow at him.

They left the two quietly sleeping and made their way to see Leah and Emily. Snickers were shared and empty threats were made, but overall they were happy to see Bella and Jared gravitating towards one another. All they could say, was it was about time.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners- namely Stephanie Myers… lucky, lucky woman. Everything else came from my own mind- scary as it is sometimes.

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Chapter 9

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(February)

Bella smiled as her students filed quietly into the classroom after coming back from lunch. It was valentines day and she could tell her students were excited to pass out their valentines before having their valentines day party. She and the other second grade teachers were only glad that the party was to be held in the schools cafeteria and was to include all the second graders instead of just doing it room by room. So far things were going smoothly.

"Ok class… 1-2-3, eyes on me please. I want your voices off and your listening ears on." She waited a beat so the kids could settle down. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take a few minutes for the valentines to be passed out. I want you all to quietly make your way to your cubbyholes and get your boxes then set them on the corner of your desks. When that's done, I want a hand in the air and you sitting in your seat quietly please."

She smiled when her students complied without fuss and within two minutes all 18 of her students' hands were in the air. Not a sound was heard as they waited for instruction. "Very nice. Now… this is how we'll do this. I want the girls to go first. Quickly pass your valentines out and then take a seat. You have five minutes. Go." She nodded her head and the seven girls in her class went to work passing out their valentines. The same was done for the boys and before they knew it, Bella was telling them they could open their boxes and quietly look at their valentines.

"I don't know how you do it Ms. Swan." A voice said from the doorway.

Bella smiled and turned to see the principle Mrs. Johnson standing there. "It's easy really. Just engage them, make it a game and they learn. It also helps that these are all really good kids."

The principle smiled. "You have someone in the parking lot for you." She said. "Normally I don't interfere, however… I felt that you should come and see what's being done to your car." She said with mirth in her eyes.

"Oh… um… ok." She poked her head into the room next to hers. "Mary, I need to go out to my car really quick. Can you watch my class please?"

"Sure, your kids are always good, Bella." It made her smile to hear it. She must be doing something right.

Bella gasped when she walked out to the teachers parking lot. The hood of her candy apple red jeep liberty- her baby- was covered in red and white long stemmed roses to form the shape of a baby white dragon curled up inside of a heart. Standing against the passenger side was her boyfriend of a month with a bouquet of yellow, pink and orange roses. His left foot was propped against the tire and his lips were curved into a playful smirk.

"Surprise." Jared said in way of greeting.

Bella couldn't keep the smile off her face as she rushed into his arms. "This is so sweet. Baby, you didn't have to do this!"

"I wanted to. A few of your co workers helped me honestly. And the principle okayed for me to be on the property. I was gonna wait until your lunch break, but she said it was close enough now." Jared said with a quick kiss to her lips. "You look beautiful today."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, you know." She teased.

He smirked. "It got me everywhere last night."

Bella smacked his arm playfully. "I have to get back inside. Baby, this was so sweet. It made my day. Thank you."

"we've only been dating for a month now, but… I've known you longer than that… so I wanted to do something nice. Half of this was Sam's idea. He said to show up with the bouquet. But… I wanted to go a step further." He said nodding to the hood of the car. I got a picture of it too… so if you want to move them, you can.

Bella handed him the flowers back and giggled when he frowned. "Smile so I can take a picture." she explained. "I want one for myself with you standing beside your artwork."

Jared proceeded to give her, what she dubbed a panty dropping smile, and kissed her almost senseless before releasing her back inside. She made it back just in time to put her roses into some water before it was time to walk her class to the cafeteria. She couldn't erase the smile on her lips for anything and her fellow teachers took note of it.

The questions from her curious co workers were ignored for the rest of the day as the time for the bells to ring drew closer. Before she knew it, Bella was heading out to the parking lot, ready to head home to her apartment and relax before her date with her boyfriend. She completely missed the lanky figure sitting on the hood of a silver Volvo parked beside her.

"Hello Isabella." Edward smirked when she stopped mid stride only a few feet from him.

Bella sighed, her amazing mood slowly dampening. "Oh, I didn't see you Edward. What do you want?"

"I came to see if you had thought anymore about my offer. I still want you back." He told her honestly. He was so sure she would have given in by now.

Bella rolled her eyes and pretended to dig through her purse. She found her phone, speed dialed her brother and pretended to bring it out of her purse while looking for her keys. She was careful to never show him the face of the phone. "I need you to leave me alone Edward. I have a boyfriend already and I'm happy with Jared."

"Yes… the native. He can't give you too much, Isabella. I can give you money, stability, clothing, jewelry. You'd never have to work again. And you'd be the mother to my children- the children you always told me you wanted to have." Edward told her pompously.

Bella sneered. "Like I ever wanted any of that stuff. I don't have use for fancy dinner gowns, I don't wear layers of make up, I don't need fancy jewelry and I LIKE to work. As far as being a mother, Edward… that will come in it's own time. I'm happy right now with what I have and Jared doesn't try to change any of that. I just want to go home to my boyfriend, now Edward. Get out of my way."

He frowned and grabbed a hold of her arm tightly by the crook of her elbow. "Have you fucked him yet? Have you told him where you got so good at sucking dick, Isabella? Does he know that you loved being put on your knees in front of me?" He hissed.

"Let. Me. Go. You're hurting me Edward." She seethed rising above his childish games. Bella heard a car approaching in the background and shook her phone. She couldn't help but think of the lyrics '_My boyfriends back and you're gonna be in trouble_.'

Anything he was going to say was interrupted by skidding tired and an engine being cut off. "You called your brother?" He finally sneered squeezing her arm tighter.

Bella huffed trying hard to hide her grimace of pain. "Get off of me Edward. I'm tired of your stupid games. Any other insults you feel the need to throw at me can be said in front of my brother and my boyfriend." She growled trying to yank her arm from his grasp.

Paul, Sam and Jared were livid as they took a menacing step in Edwards direction. "I would do what she asks." Jared all but growled. His good mood from earlier in the day had been ruined when he heard Bella telling her ex to yet again leave her alone after she had called Paul's phone.

Edward glared at him for a moment before shoving Bella backwards roughly. If not for Paul waiting to catch her, she would have been knocked down to the waiting concrete. It was a stupid move on his part since Jared saw it for what it was- an attempt to cause bodily harm to Bella. With one well aimed swing, Jared's fist connected with the soft flesh of Edward's jaw.

"That's a warning. Next time I won't let you walk away." Jared snapped when Edward spat blood out of his mouth as well as a loose tooth. He shrugged Sam's hand off of his shoulder before turning his attention to Bella's arm. The marks from Edward's grip were already darkening due to how easily Bella bruised.

"I'm ok. I promise you, I'm ok." She told him before kissing his cheek.

Paul turned his attention towards Edward then. "You can expect to hear from my father. I don't think he'll take lightly to the fact that you've yet again put bruises on my sisters' arm." He sneered.

Edward was beyond livid. Under normal circumstances, he would have walked away. But in his desperation to win Bella over, he opened his mouth without thinking. "What father Paul? Your father walked away from you when you were only 4 or 5 years old. He left you with a mother who had to work so much that she never had the time for you. And look at what's become of you. Layered in tattoos with no future for yourself." He sneered.

"Paul… walk away. Come on bro… just walk away." Sam pleaded. He knew Edward was trying to push buttons and talking about the way Paul was abandoned by his father was one of them.

It was Bella, though, who surprised them all by marching up to Edward and landing a solid right hook to his nose. "Do **NOT** talk about my brother like that again Edward Anthony Cullen. You may not like him, but you **WILL** refrain from speaking of things to which you have NO knowledge. Paul **IS** my brother. Maybe not by blood, but he's still my brother and you **WILL** watch how you treat him. Family is _EVERYTHING_ to me, so to insult him is to insult me." She growled out.

"He'll never amount to ANYTHING Bella! He'll do nothing but drag you down, just like the rest of your family! Come back to me. I can give you EVERYTHING." Edward tried again.

Bella glared. "That MAN has more going for him right now than you EVER will in your god awful pathetic excuse of a life. So what if he's covered in tattoos? He owns a tattoo shop! He has friends and family who love him! He has a woman standing behind him who loves him for who he is, and he'd never betray her with another woman in his bed. Who can you say is standing behind you? Your mother? Your sister? I'd rather take my chances with Lucifer himself than have THEM behind me." She hissed.

"Bella… please… I love-" Bella's glare quieted his protests.

"Just leave me alone. You come near me again and it won't be Paul I speed dial. It will be the police. And don't think that you can sweet talk the Port Angeles PD out of a restraining order. All I have to do is bring in witnesses and drop my fathers name." She warned. With that she shoved her way past him and to her car calling Jared to tag along.

Paul and Sam shook their heads while Jared simply stared opened mouthed for a few minutes before quickly following his girlfriend. Edward was left speechless in the deserted parking lot while Bella and her friends left for home and work.

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Jared grinned as they made their way into his apartment. He had never been more turned on than he had been watching Bella defend Paul.

He had been shocked and awed when he had watched her ire raise enough to throw a proper right hook before going off on a tangent. It was a side of her he hoped he never had to see first hand coming after him. He couldn't help but to tease her in the car the entire way home. Light, lingering caresses to her inner wrist, aimless trails up her inner thigh while she drove- it was enough that she had demanded use of the elevator by the time she had parked outside the apartment building.

"You're so evil." She mused when she curled up beside him on his couch.

He grinned. "I am huh?" He snickered before handing her a shot glass filled with her favorite vodka.

"You are. Don't you know by now it's dangerous to tease me? I always get pay back." She whispered, her lips barely touching the shell of his ear.

Jared suppressed a shudder. "You do huh?" He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist, trapping her against his side.

Bella giggled and nodded her head. "Yeah, I do." She preened before trailing kisses from his shoulder to his jaw.

"Well, Ms. Swan, what do you intend to do to me? I'm at your mercy." He whispered against her lips.

She grinned and placed her glass down on the coffee table before moving to straddle his waist. "The shirt needs to go." She muttered before bunching it up and smiling when Jared leaned forward to let her remove it.

Every time she saw him without a shirt was like the first time all over again. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the nipple piercing, her fingertips brushing over it gently. Her hunger for him was growing as she began to trace random tattoos he had inked into his skin.

Jared groaned and leaned forward to capture her lips with his. He smirked when his hands ghosted down her back to rest on the swell of her pert bottom before grinding their hips together gently. He groaned again when Bella carded her fingers through his short hair before lightly grazing her nails against the skin at the back of his neck. The last time they had had a chance to be this intimate was the week after New Years- their first time sleeping together. Once school started again, and businesses opened for regular hours, things became hectic for the couple; a few heated kisses or lingering touches was all they had really shared. Bella was solving that problem now as she ground herself against Jared's thigh wantonly.

"I want you Jay." She whimpered when he pulled away to start unbuttoning her shirt.

"Yeah? How bad babe?" He all but purred, his eyes blazing with desire as the shirt was pulled from her shoulders leaving her in just a black lace bra with a heart charm dangling from the center of the fabric. The sales associate in Victoria's Secret had told her that little charms such as the one she had there now were a big hit with boyfriends and husbands. Bella mused that she was 100% right.

Bella smirked when she saw his eyes widen some. She moved to stand in front of him before turning to show off her inked backside- something that always amazed him as well as turned him on. With a playful gleam in her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at him, she began to undo her slacks and slowly strip them from her body. Jared mused that if she had failed as a teacher, she would have made one hell of a dancer.

"Touch me Jared." Bella purred when her slacks hit the floor. She was left in her black lace bra and a matching black lace thong that had all the blood in Jared's body pumping through him to his now throbbing dick.

Jared took in a sharp breath before pulling her back into his lap with her back to his chest. His left hand gathered her hair and moved it over her shoulder before dropping to pinch a taut nipple through the lace material of her bra. "Like that baby?" He purred when her back arched lightly.

Bella mewled quietly before reaching back to pull his face closer so she could kiss him. She loved his kisses. The way his lips felt against hers was almost enough to drive her to orgasm alone. "Please…touch me baby." She whined.

Jared's free hand moved down her body to cup her cloth covered mound- already soaked in anticipation. "Damn baby, you're so wet for me already." He groaned before sucking on the sensitive flesh of her neck just below her ear.

"Jay!" Bella gasped when she felt his fingers running lightly up and down her slit. "Don't tease me please! I need you." She whined.

He groaned at her confession, his lips and teeth working in tandem to mark her neck. He loved the way she felt against him, writhing in pleasure on his lap as his fingers worked back and forth into her soaked core. "Does it feel good babe? Damn but your so fucking sexy like this…. All needy for my cock." He growled.

Bella's hips began to rock against his hand as her head rested back on his shoulder. "Want you… please… don't make me beg… please." She whined.

Jared smirked, loving the way she was rocking against his hand. "Ride my fingers baby… you look so good like this." He whispered in her ear.

She was just there, he knew. He could feel her walls begin to spasm as her orgasm drew closer. It took all the willpower he possessed to stop what he was doing and move her off of his lap. Before she could protest too much, she was gathered into his arms and he was making his way to the bed room.

His room itself was her personal favorite room in his apartment. It was all male and so him in her opinion. A California king size bed with a handsome cedar wood head and foot board dominated one side of the room. The matching cedar dresser and night stand were the only other pieces of furniture left in the room save for the flat screen TV resting on his dresser. The sheets on the bed were black and red and the comforter was solid black as well. Bella couldn't help but grin whenever she saw it.

"Jared, I love your room." She muttered in between kisses to his lips and jaw.

He shifted her weight slightly before kicking the door closed gently with his foot. "You tell me that every time you see it. And if it helps matters, Leah and Emily tell me all the time that I need to tell you to add your own little touches here and there. I guess they know by now you spend every other night in my bed anyways." He said with a cocky grin.

"Sounds like them." Bella mused with a shake of her head. She squealed when Jared playfully threw her onto the bed. She grinned when he crawled over her body slowly with a predatory look in his eyes.

"Hi baby." He purred.

Bella worried her bottom lip and moved her arms to twine gently around his neck. "Hey."

"I want you." He moaned quietly as his hips rocked slowly and deliberately into hers.

She gasped when she felt his jean clad dick against her lace covered pussy. "Want you too." She whimpered.

"Then lets do something about it, hm?" He teased moving to gently nip at the hickey already forming on her neck.

Bella groaned and moved her fingers slowly down his body to the button on his jeans. With only a little difficulty, she removed the jeans from his waist arching her eyebrow at him when she didn't see any boxers or briefs to remove next. A chuckle from Jared had their eyes meeting.

"I always go commando, I told you that. Less laundry for me." He said with a smirk.

Bella nipped his neck. "I'm sure that's the only reason." She teased. She pushed him off of her long enough to reach around behind her and unsnap the hooks that kept her bra in place. When she lay back down, a smirk was dancing over her lips. "Well?" She arched her back slightly when she felt his hands slowly dancing upwards over her skin.

"Such a tease." He murmured. "Damn but you're gorgeous Bella." He groaned when her bra was pulled slowly from her body. She lay under him in nothing more than a black lace thong with a smile on her face.

His lips attacked her body, kissing any place he could reach. For a long while he teased her taunt nipples, running his tongue ring over each pert bud adding to the pleasurable sensations racing through her body. His fingers tormented her as they moved her thong aside and danced over her clit in tight, slow circles, easing her ever closer to the edge of pure bliss.

"Jared, please. Don't tease me. I can't take it anymore, please baby I need you." Bella was almost incoherent with a need to feel him. "Please just fuck me."

Jared groaned and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "You have no idea how much I love hearing you beg for me. So fucking sexy." He whispered before nibbling lightly on her earlobe. He kissed a trail down her body until he got to her last article of clothing left.

Bella's thong was pulled down slowly off of her hips with his teeth. She propped herself up on her elbows to watch him kiss and nibble his way back up her leg. By the time his lips closed over her clit, her legs were shaking in need and desire.

"Bella, you taste so fucking good baby." Jared moaned as he licked her soaking wet slit from bottom to top and back down again. He smirked when she shivered.

"Jared, please… Mmm…please don't tease me. I wanna cum with you inside me." Bella whined.

"Alright. Alright. Spoil my fun." He teased before crawling off of her briefly to reach into his nightstand drawer. Bella was confused until she saw the foil packet he came away with in his hands. She smirked when an idea came to her.

"Let me?" She asked taking it from him. She pushed him onto his back before tearing the packet open. With a smirk, she had the condom against her lips and her mouth sliding down over his cock in one fluid movement.

Jared gasped at the unexpectedness of that one action. His entire length was engulfed down her throat and she hadn't so much as choked once. "Holy fucking shit! Bella!"

She kissed her way up his body stopping to give his nipple ring a gentle tug which caused him to arch into her touch. "Problem?" She asked before sitting up and sinking herself down onto him almost painfully slowly.

"None at all… oh god…just like that babe…" He whined when she almost unseated herself from him, pausing with only the very tip of his blunt head still inside of her clenching heat.

Bella smirked. "Something wrong baby?" She asked seating herself just as slowly as before.

Jared's head hit the pillow as he watched her. "Would it be bad if I told you my favorite fantasy is about fucking a teacher?" He asked groaning when she was fully seated on him again.

Bella laughed and raised her hips slightly, lowering herself ever so slowly again. "Not at all. Remember, I've got an antique desk in my apartment whenever you want to live that one out." She whispered as she leaned over him.

His eyes all but rolled back into his head at her admission. "Sweet baby fucking Jesus. Baby girl, please don't tease me! God I want you so fucking bad."

Bella smirked. "Such a dirty mouth, Mr. Cameron. I'll give you a warning for now. Any more bad language and I'll have to issue you a detention. Is that understood?" She teased. Her voice held all the authority of a teacher and all the sexiness that Jared had come to love in his girlfriend.

Jared's hands moved to her hips holding her steady as she built up a hard, fast rhythm. She stopped every so often to swivel her hips or just sit on his lap before starting up a hard, fast rhythm again. His eyes glazed over as pleasure ran wild through his body. A liquid fire danced its way down his spine to pool and simmer in his gut. He watched Bella riding him, watched as her head fell back and her breasts bounced as she raised and lowered herself over him. He shuddered and fought to keep his eyes open. Looking down, he made the mistake of watching himself disappear into her each time she moved against him.

"I'm so close… Jay… please!" She whimpered.

He shuddered again. The raw need and hunger for him was evident in her voice. He licked his thumb and moved it to her clit as their eyes met. "Cum for me Bella. Come on baby. Let me see you cum." He cajoled running tight circles around her little button of pleasure.

Bella's head was thrown backwards again, her walls fluttering around his hard length as their hips met in almost brutal thrusts. "I-I'm… fuck… Jared!"

His dick was locked in a vice as she was sent head first into a pool of carnal bliss. He watched as Bella's body went rigid before he felt the waves of her release rush over him. Three more thrusts into her seemingly boneless body and his own release spilled over into the condom. Her name was on his lips as he came, his back arched off the bed towards her and his hands were on her hips holding her to him.

There were a few minutes when he got up, went to the bathroom to discard the condom he had worn and then finally came back with a glass of water for them to share. She merely smiled and dragged him back to her side. They let the stillness of the apartment wash over them in a blanket of comfortable quiet.

"You're so beautiful." He said after a few minutes of peaceful silence as she started to drift off.

Bella smiled and opened her eyes to look up at him. "You're hot too Jay."

"You think so?" He teased.

"No. I know so." She said kissing him sweetly over his heart.

He smiled and cuddled her to him. "Move in with me Bella." He said quietly.

Bella sat up and looked down at him with a curious face. "What?"

"Move in with me. It's two doors down from one another. We wouldn't have to worry about sleeping in different beds since I'm always over there anyways or your always over here. We'd sleep a lot better than what our couches could afford us I'm sure." He mused.

Bella bit her lip and thought about it. "We HAVE known each other for the better part of 11 months even if we did dance around one another for the first two months or so…. It's not like you'd ever try to hurt me…and truth be told, I'm falling head over heels for you." She admitted with a slight blush.

Jared grinned. "You are huh."

"Yeah. I am…in answer to your question… Alright. Yeah." She told him with a grin of her own.

His eyes lit up with happiness. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I've got a friend I can sublet my apartment to until the lease is ready to be renewed. She's been looking for a place of her own. After she moves in I'm all yours. It should only take a couple weeks, I'm pretty sure she'd take the offer." She smiled and cuddled up to him, her head resting over his heart.

He kissed her head and let the silence lull him into a peaceful sleep. They drifted in the sandman's embrace oblivious to their friends texts and calls. They could wait until morning. If it was really important, they would show up. Paul and Sam both had a spare key each to Jared's apartment and Jared knew Paul had a spare key to his sisters apartment as well.

Jared's final thoughts were to thank the spirits for guiding him to Bella. She was something good in his life when he was just beginning to think that he was going to be stuck with everything bad for a long while yet. He couldn't have been more thankful for her patience, her understanding, her wisdom… her love. He vowed that he'd do everything he could to try and be worthy of this great and wonderful gift. With that, his eyes closed and he fell into slumbers awaiting arms.


	11. Chapter 10

**Authors Note:**

A couple songs that had me inspired to write some of this… "This Life Would Kill Me" By Thompson Square… it's Incredible! The other one is a song called "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington.

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Chapter 10

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( starts in March)

*Memory/ Flashback*

_ Bella groaned and raced towards the bathroom just in time to relieve her stomach of the contents of her dinner from the night before. It was the second week in a row she had woken up this way. To say she was starting to worry was an understatement. From behind her she heard a sigh before Jared lifted her hair from her face, rubbing soothing circles against the smooth skin of her back._

_ "Still think you're ok baby girl?" He asked gently._

_ "I think it's time to make an appointment with my doctor. Little brats in school got me sick!" She grumbled._

_ Jared smiled and kissed the crown of her head. "You think you can stand up?"_

_ Bella groaned and shook her head. "Still queasy." _

_ He nodded. "I'll be right back." He said leaving briefly only to return with a glass of water to rinse her mouth with and a few saltine crackers._

_ "Before you ask, my mom used to get sick a lot in the winter time because she worked with the public. She told me once that she always carried some crackers with her in her purse because it settles the stomach." He told her with a small smile. _

_ She answered his smile with one of her own and rinsed her mouth before nibbling on a cracker. "How'd I get so lucky?"_

_ Jared smirked. "You answered your door." He teased causing her to laugh weakly as she stood on shaky legs. _

_ It was a running joke between them. People would ask them how they met and Jared would regale them with the story of receiving her mail mixed in with his, and how one day he braved the fear of an unknown neighbor to return it to her. To hear him tell it, it was love at first sight. Now, a month after moving in with him, she was still content and feeling blessed for once in her life._

_ "I don't want to go to work. But I can't just stay here all day with just a stomach bug." She whined._

_ "Lucky for you baby girl, you're burning up. Let me call in for you. It's still early enough they can get you a sub. You've never called in sick before." Jared said before sweeping her up into his arms, cradling her to him as he made his way to the bed._

_ "Mmm. Phone's on the nightstand. Press 3." She mumbled already half asleep again._

_ Jared shook his head and smiled. The little waif of a woman in his arms could have told him to walk through fire and he would have happily done so. Not even Kim had had that kind of unseen power over him. He called her school, explained what was going on and gladly told them he would keep her in bed until she could get her illness under control. From there he called Paul._

_ "Hey man, what's up?" Paul greeted. Keys were heard clanging against the door as he unlocked the shop._

_ "Dude, Bella's sick. I was gonna see if I could stay with her today. She's running a fever and she was throwing up again this morning." Jared sighed._

_ "Still?! It's been what, like two weeks!" Paul was starting to worry._

_ "I know. Look… I'm making an appointment for her… if I can get one today, we'll know what's really wrong. Somehow I don't just think this is the flu."_

_ Paul could hear the worry in his voice. "Alright dude. Just let me know what's going on. Take tomorrow off too. Bella is stubborn enough that she'll try to do stuff on her own if your gone."_

_ Jared laughed. "Been there, done that. I came home yesterday and the woman was on her hands and knees scrubbing the damn bathroom floor." He said with a sigh._

_ "Sounds like her." Paul laughed. "Alright. Let me know what you guys find out."_

_ "Will do. Thanks man. I owe you." Jared grinned._

_ "Whatever dude. I'll collect later. You take care of my baby sister." _

_ "Sure. Later bro." Jared said before hanging up._

_ Bella groaned then. "Jay?" _

_ "Hey Bella. What's wrong?" He was by her his in a moment. _

_ She cracked an eye open to look at him. "I'm cold. Come keep me warm!" Bella whined._

_ Jared smiled and sat down with his back against the headrest. He scrolled through the contacts on his phone until he found the number for his doctors office and turned to Bella. "Who's your doctor again baby?"_

_ "Dr. Simmons. Nice guy." She yawned. It was still hard for her to believe their doctors worked in the same building sometimes._

_ He sighed and made the appointment for 10:00 that very morning. It gave them a little over an hour to sleep, a half hour to get ready and then another 25 minutes to drive to the office itself. "Come on baby girl. Lets get you dressed. You feeling queasy still?"_

_ "No, just really achy and tired." Bella really hated being sick. It wasn't often that it happened, but when she did get sick, it hit her hard._

_ Jared slipped from bed and returned a few minutes later with Motrin and glass of water. They settled down to sleep, pausing only when Jared set an alarm for them to be up with plenty of time to dress and get ready to go._

_ She smiled at him and with his help got dressed and made it safely to the car. The trip to the doctors office was filled with content silence as Bella rested with her head against the window. He checked her in and held her hand while they waited. _

_ When her name was called he smiled and stayed sitting until she turned to him. "Aren't you coming?"_

_ He smiled. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to or not. I didn't want to step on your toes."_

_ Bella smiled and held her hand out for him. The nurse, the same one Bella saw each time she came to the doctor gave her a warm smile. She was one of three nurses so she remembered each patient with relative ease. She made small talk and showed them to a room to take her vitals._

_ "What was the date of your last period?" It was a routine question, and Bella should have been able to answer it easily and readily. Only, she wasn't able to because she couldn't remember._

_ "Um…I don't… I mean…I can't remember off the top of my head." She told her. Jared frowned. When the nurse left, he turned on her._

_ "What's wrong Bella. Talk to me. You looked like you were going into shock or something." _

_ Bella took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally. "I think I know what's wrong… I'm pretty sure I might possibly be pregnant." She whispered it and looked away from him biting her lip against the sting of rejection she was sure was to come._

_ Jared watched her shoulders sag and puzzled over it. "Are you not happy about it?" He asked gently._

_ Her head shot up to look at him. "I-I… aren't you m-mad?"_

_ "Baby girl. If it turns out that you ARE pregnant… we'll deal with it. I love you Bella. This will just be another reason to love you. You'd be giving me a child." He grinned and kissed her cheek. "But first we need to get you better. So no more tears."_

_ "You love me?" She asked quietly._

_ Jared kissed her head and grinned. "Yes. I do love you, you silly woman."_

_ "I love you too, Jay. Sorry if I freaked you out." She told him._

_ He shrugged. "I think one of the condoms broke on us before the birth control had a chance to start working." He mused._

_ "It's possible. But that would also mean I was already pregnant before we moved in together too. I didn't start my new birth control until January." She frowned trying to think. She sighed and leaned her head onto his shoulder. _

_ "I'm here for you." He promised. _

_ Bella smiled and got through her doctors appointment with much lighter shoulders. Jared had proven to her that he was the man she wanted to spend forever with in that small little room. The doctor had confirmed their suspicions as well as telling her that she did indeed have the flu which was why she was constantly burning fevers and throwing up so much. He gave her a low dose antibiotic, told her to eat dry toast or- ironically- saltine crackers to help with her stomach upset, and told her that if she needed anything else to call back for another appointment. _

_ When they made it back to their apartment, Bella called Leah and Emily asking if they could come to the reservation the weekend coming up. When they confirmed, she hung up and called her brother and Sam. They confirmed as well and left her to call her dad and her uncle. They both promised to stave off of his fishing trip with Harry Clearwater and Josh Uley. Jacob, likewise had also promised to stay home since Bella and Jared were coming to visit and were bringing good news with them. Bella couldn't wait to see everyone's faces._

*End Memory/ Flashback*

"Come on man, you've got to eat something. You've been here all night again."

"I can't leave her man. I almost lost her once. What if she wakes up and I'm not here?"

"Come one dude, at least go get a drink. We're all here. If she wakes up we'll tell her where you went. You're not going to do anyone any good like this, much less her."

"Yeah… I guess… guys, please… don't tell her about the baby unless she asks."

"You know we would never do that to either one of you."

All she heard were voices. She was surrounded by a blanket of dark, comforting warmth. There were times she could pick up different sounds- machines beeping, monitors chirping, the thudding of her own heartbeat, people knocking on doors- but she didn't want to try and wake herself to find out just how right she was. At least, not until she had heard those voices. Not until she had heard that conversation. Everyone seemed so sad. Why were they sad about the baby now? They had been happy before about Jared and she being pregnant. Something was wrong.

With a great amount of effort Bella's eyes opened marginally, her blanket of darkness slipping slowly away. Her mind was a garbled mess of memories and faces and voices. She couldn't figure out where she was at the moment. Nothing looked familiar to her. All she saw was white walls before her focus settled on various cords and tubes surrounding her person. She heard a quiet gasp from somewhere to her left and tried to turn her head as far as she could towards the noise.

"Oh god, Bella. You're awake!" Bella frowned. She knew that voice.

"Daddy?" Her voice was rough, her throat scratchy as if she had just woken from a night of sleep.

"Shh. Don't try to talk just yet. Take a sip of water." Another voice gently instructed. She knew that one too.

"Mom?" She tried to think about it, but her mind was drawing a blank. When had her mom come to visit? She wasn't due until Summer time for her uncle Billy's birthday.

"Jacob, go get a nurse. Tell them she's awake." Bella was confused. Why did all these voices sound so familiar to her?

"Uncle Billy?" Why couldn't she remember anything?

Bella frowned as the faces of her family came into view. Her mom and Phil, her dad and Hailey, her uncle Billy, Jacob, even Paul. She tried hard to remember what had happened. Obviously something had happened to her. She knew enough to know she was in a hospital judging by the wires and the dreary white walls.

"Where am I?" She wondered. She watched as her family shifted uncomfortably.

Paul came to her rescue. "You don't remember anything do you?" He asked her gently.

Her mind raced to think of anything. She gasped and jerked up suddenly as a blinding beam of light flashed in her mind. "Jared!"

"Hey… shh… easy… calm down Bells. It's ok. He's ok." Her uncles crooning voice flooded through her, easing her panicked nerves. "We sent him to get something to eat. Poor man has hardly left your side since you were brought it."

Jacob smiled having come back almost as soon as he had left. The nurse he had talked to assured him the doctor would see Bella when he was available. "It's kind of sickening honestly. Bella… you went and got a puppy…. You could have dated Embry if you wanted one of those." His joking and teasing earned the desired smile as Bella finally relaxed slightly.

"Yeah, I'll pass. Embry is nothing more than a really good friend. I have Jared and…." She began to panic for a different reason as soon as she looked down at her body. There should have been more monitors on her stomach. She didn't feel any at all, nor did she hear a second heart beat in the room. This time it was Renee and Hailey to shove the men aside in order to calm her down. They stood on either side of her, each woman knowing what was going through her mind. "The baby?" She asked looking at both women.

"No sweetie… I'm so sorry." Renee told her gently. "Something happened in the accident. The man who hit you, hit you in such a way that it's a miracle you and Jared survived at all. You were trapped… pinned when the front end was crushed. Baby… I'm so sorry."

Hailey's eyes welled with unshed tears. "You had everyone so scared. They got you stabilized in the ambulance, but… they found something when they got you into a room… you lost the baby an hour after being here. Jared was so scared he'd loose the both of you. Paul told me he and Sam had never seen him like that. He dropped to his knees then and there and promised the spirits he'd go in your place if they'd save you."

Paul placed a hand on her knee. "They heard Jared, Bells. They didn't save you both, but they DID hear him. They gave you back to him. He was almost broken."

Tears clouded in her eyes as the news of her unborn child's passing fell over her mind. They had only just found out they were going to be parents. They had both been so happy. Jared's eyes had glowed with pride as they had told everyone. While they were a little shocked at first, they had all celebrated together offering congratulations while Emily and Leah both squealed and made plans right away for a nursery in Jared's two bedroom apartment.

"Jake, Paul… go get Jared. Let him know she's awake." Billy ordered softly. The both nodded and took off down to the cafeteria.

"What did I do wrong? Why did the spirits take my baby?" Bella cried quietly.

Billy sighed and shared a pained look with the other adults in the room. He placed a strong hand on Bella's leg and began to sing an old Quileute lullaby to her. The same one he had sung to his children to quiet their tears when they were but toddlers running about his knees. Hailey and Renee added their voices as well offering thanks for keeping Bella safe while they sang.

Renee brushed a stray piece of hair from Bella's eyes and smiled gently while Billy and Hailey continued to sing quietly. "Sometimes… sometimes we don't get to choose who stays with us and who leaves. All I know, is that the spirits kept you alive when you all should have died baby. You get to live again, and maybe when you're healed you'll know the feeling of having a child call you mom. It's painful, but I thank the spirits for saving you when I could have lost all three of you." She said. She had come to see Jared as a son in law and Bella gave her a watery smile to show her appreciation of the acknowledgement.

"Bella?! Oh god! Baby you're awake!" Jared had tears in his eyes as he looked at her talking to her mom. While he still had bruises on his body and his arm was in a cast, he was lucky enough to be walking after the way the car had rolled them both.

Bella smiled when she saw him in the door way. "Jared." She whispered.

Jared moved to sit beside her and kissed her lips gently. "I was so scared I'd never get to see those amazing eyes again. Thank the spirits I can." He cooed softly while staring in her eyes.

"How long have I been here?" She shifted slightly to look up at him before looking around at her family.

Charlie sighed. "It's been five weeks. It's the first week of May now princess. Do you remember what happened?"

"Bits and pieces. I see mostly bright flashes before everything goes blank." She admitted.

Jared sighed. "We were coming home from a visit with your dad. He got down your old nursery room furniture. Remember?"

"Yeah… we- we were stopped at a red light…right?" She frowned, wishing she could remember everything.

Jared nodded. "Yeah… it had just turned green for us. By the time I saw it, it was too late to swerve. Paul and Sam were right behind us… they called it in but my car… the truck driver that hit us was well over the legal alcohol limit. We got rolled over at least seven times before slamming into a light pole clear on the other side of the road according to officers and EMT's. They told me there was no way the baby could have survived the trauma but they were holding out hope. By the time you were admitted… baby girl I'm so sorry."

Jacob and Paul looked away and swallowed back tears. The parents in the room had to fight back sobs as Bella and Jared grieved for the loss of life they had never known. Not being able to take it, Jacob excused himself to see if a doctor was available to come and talk to Bella.

Within ten minutes, a knock sounded on the metal doorframe. "Good afternoon Ms. Swan. It's nice to see you awake." Her doctor told her.

Bella smiled. "Yeah… I feel like I've been sleeping way too much actually."

"Well, five weeks of beauty sleep can do that to a woman I suppose. How are you feeling? Is your pain tolerable?"

"I don't hurt too bad, my back tingles a little. My shoulder is sore. And my stomach…" She looked away having to stop or else the tears threatened to fall non stop.

Her doctor smiled in understanding. "It's alright. I'm a little worried though. You said your shoulder and your back and your stomach are sore, yes?" He made some notes on her chart when she nodded. "If I may…" He moved to her bedside gently pushing Renee back against Phil and Hailey against Charlie. He raised her blanket so that one of her legs was bared and did his best to hide the skin from Bella's eyes.

She gasped when she saw her leg. It was bruised and cut deeply and the stitches made her think of the Frankenstein monster. She also noticed the frown on the doctors face when he began to poke and prod her skin. "What's wrong?"

"Do you have any kind of pain in your leg Bella?" He asked kindly.

"No… no pain… but it tingles where you touch." She answered honestly, not missing his deep frown.

"How about here?" He asked her hitting a tender spot on her hip.

Bella hissed as pain raced up her spine. She shook her head no when he touched a part on her thigh telling him she could just barely feel it. She watched as he touched a few more places on her leg before touching the same spots on her slightly less injured leg. While she could feel all of those spots more clearly, the pain just wasn't registering as well as it should have.

The doctor seemed only slightly relieved. "Well, that's definitely something we can work with. We're not out of the woods just yet, but it's better than I had feared initially. We'll have to run some more tests, but it looks like you'll be able to walk again." He promised.

Bella cried as he went on to tell her that because of the way the car had pinned her, she had broken her leg in such a way they had had to do intensive repair surgery and had to place a steel rod into her leg where part of her thigh bone had shattered. Her hip had also been broken from the impact as well. It was a miracle she could feel anything at all in either of her legs and to be on the safe side, he was putting her through a physical therapy course to help strengthen her leg as well as her other muscles that hadn't been used in almost a months time.

Jared squeezed her hand when the doctor left. "We'll get through it. I'm not going anywhere baby girl. We're gonna make it through." He promised her.

"I'll be ok baby. Just please, don't let me fall. Don't let go of my hand, ok?" Bella whispered.

They were oblivious to everyone else in the room as they whispered quietly to one another. Sweet promises made of a life after she was released from the hospital. Paul only smiled. He raised his head and thanked the spirits for saving his sister. He thanked them for allowing Jared and his sister to find one another. He asked them to always let them live together happy. For once, the spirits had gotten it right, so he mused.


	12. Chapter 11

Author's Note:

Ok, this chapter is a little different… and it will be the only chapter I do this like. Each separate month is a collection of flashbacks from either Bella or Jared or both of them. It's the time spent as Bella heals. The last part- November brings everything back to the forefront of the story… so… HOPEFULLY it's not that hard to follow. If it is, I apologize ahead of time.

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Chapter 11

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_**(May)**_

_ Bella took a shuddering breath as she woke herself from her nightmare. Jared was by her side in an instant, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand. His other hand wiped away the tears that were now falling down her cheek._

_ "Are you ok." He whispered to her. "Do you need anything?"_

_ Her eyes closed and her lip quivered as she shook her head slowly. "I will be." She offered._

_ "They told us they didn't think you'd wake up. Your body was healing… they even took you off of the breathing machines because you started breathing on your own after the second week here… your mind just refused to come back." He whispered, his own tears threatening to drop._

_ "I heard you. It was like being covered in a thick blanket… and then having someone talking very close to you while you're under the water. I just didn't understand why I couldn't answer." She tried to tell him._

_ Jared smiled and kissed her hand. "I don't know if I want to think about what would have happened… they said… I think I'd probably die."_

_ "I'm so sorry, Jay." She whispered, tears in her eyes. "We don't have our baby. I couldn't keep it."_

_ He shook his head and put a finger to her lips. "I'm not. I have you. I don't know if I would have had a son or a daughter, but I DO know that I still have you. And when it's time, the spirits will give us the baby we both want. You didn't do anything wrong." He promised her._

_ Bella smiled. "How did I ever get so lucky?" She wondered quietly._

_ "You answered the door baby girl." He said with a quiet chuckle._

_ She sighed and smiled weakly. The medicine in her body was already causing her to become tired again. "Don't leave me, Jay. I need you."_

_ "I'll be here. I promise."_

_ She knew it was one he'd be willing to keep. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she lost him. The thought was too terrifying for her to pursue. With a final sigh, she allowed sleep to take her into it's gentle embrace again. This time as she slept, she wasn't afraid the nightmares would haunt her dreams again. Jared would be there to chase them away._

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_**(June)**_

_ Jared, Paul and Jacob made their way to the elevator ignoring the giggling nurses that sat behind the nurses station in the main entrance of the Olympic Medical Center trying to catch their eye. The women always frowned when they seemingly paid them no mind and only stopped on occasion to see if Bella had been moved yet. It had happened only twice; they had moved Bella to a different room due to need for the one she was in and had neglected to tell her family. After the last time Jared had raised holy hell, it hadn't happened again._

_ When they reached the third floor, they stepped off the elevator and made their way to the nurses station to sign in. Predictably, the same sweet, helpful strawberry blonde nurse- Alyssa was her name- greeted them with a smile. "Hello boys. How are you today?"_

_ Paul smiled. "Hey Alyssa. How's our girl doing?"_

_ "She driving you crazy yet?" Jacob teased giving her an easy smile._

_ Alyssa laughed heartily. "Not yet. She's a sweetheart. She's stubborn as an ox and has been telling us all that she'll be leaving here next month."_

_ Jared grinned. "That's my girl. I just hope she keeps that attitude up. She's going to need it." He said with a sigh._

_ Alyssa smiled and gave him a knowing look. "I'm not going to lie. It's going to be rough on her. She's going to have to retrain herself to walk again. But, I've seen you three in here every day for the past month now. You two," She said pointing at Jacob and Paul, "stay from the start of visiting hours to the end. And you, Jared, you stay all day long when you can. You're her support. And as long as she has that, she'll do just fine."_

_ Jacob grinned. "Thanks Alyssa."_

_ "No problem boys. She should be awake by now. I know she loves seeing you in here bright and early… so does a certain co worker of mine, Jacob." Alyssa said with a teasing grin._

_ Jacob coughed a little and looked away with a slight blush. Vanessa was Bella's physical therapist- and Jacob's newest walking fantasy. Paul bumping his shoulder playfully brought him from his thoughts as they walked down the hall to Bella's room. _

_ They found Bella sitting up waiting for them with a smile on her face. So far, she was still optimistic and her pain was manageable today. It was only the beginning though and she had a long ways to go._

_**( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)**_

_**(July)**_

_ Jared sighed as he watched Bella's napping form. He had just learned that the man who hit them had been paid by a woman named Victoria. She had been Edward's lover before he broke up with her and began to once again pursue Bella. The woman had been none too pleased and had found the first expendable thug she could easily manipulate. _

_ Authorities had told her dad that she was now in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. She had actually smirked when she had seen the accident photos. Jared couldn't have been more horrified that someone would do that just to get revenge on a person. _

_ He looked at Bella again and sighed. She was sleeping peacefully for the moment. Vanessa had just left her room only twenty minutes before. Bella had been improving by leaps and bounds so far. Jared was there to help her through the worst of it. He dried her eyes and calmed her fears. He was her solid rock of strength when she felt like giving in to the pain her body was in. _

_ He jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. Looking up, he smiled tiredly at Paul. He turned his attention back to Bella when she sighed in her sleep. They chuckled when a smile flitted across her lips followed by Jared's name quietly whispered into the room._

_ "When's the last time you slept bro?" Paul asked quietly after a few moments._

_ Jared sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I think I got about four hours last night. I just…Paul… she's…. I don't think I want to let her go…" He admitted._

_ Paul grinned. "I know. Everyone else can see it too. That's why Sam doesn't say anything when you come here after work instead of going to bed like he wants. He knows if it was Emily, he'd do the same thing. I'd be here too if it was Leah."_

_ "How are the girls? They come in at night when I leave, but we don't really talk since people are sleeping. I feel so bad for ignoring them." Jared said with a small frown._

_ Paul shook his head. "They'd be more mad if you ignored her. Believe me, they're more than proud of you right now. Sam and I joked that we're going to have to watch it or you'll end up with three girls and we'll be all alone again." _

_ Paul's joke worked. Jared grinned at his friend and sighed, thankful for some relief from the tension in his shoulders. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you guys sometimes."_

_ "Things would be more quiet for one." A voice quipped._

_ Paul and Jared looked up to see Bella watching them with a smile on her lips. "Hey you. How long have you been pretending to sleep?" Paul asked._

_ "Since you started talking to him." She retorted. "And Jay, you need to take better care of yourself!"_

_ "I will if you will." He promised her."_

_ "Agreed."_

_**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )**_

_**(August)**_

_ Bella sighed and stared out of the window. A single tear rolled down her face as she thought about the events of yesterday. Vanessa hadn't been there. She had gone out of town to visit her sister and brand new niece. The man they got to take her shifts was- in Bella's mind- completely horrid. He had pushed her beyond what she was used to, and as much as she was already pushing herself, it was too much. _

_ Jared hadn't been there either. He was supposed to have been, but unbeknownst to either of them, the therapist had changed her slotted time. Instead of going in in the afternoon, it had been in the morning. He had actually raised his voice to her when she said she was tired. She had ended up breaking down- quietly- but it was enough that Vanessa's assistant- Mandy- had told him off and then wheeled her back to her room._

_ She looked to the clock. Jared would be here soon. Make that…now. And he wasn't alone. Bella glared at the therapist as he walked in with Jared not far behind. Vanessa's assistant was behind them with a scowl on her face as well. When Jared saw who the looks were directed to, his brow furrowed in confusion._

_ "Is everything alright?" Jared wondered._

_ Mandy opened her mouth to speak by was cut off. "Things are fine. Bella ran into some problems this morning during her therapy session-"_

_ "She had a session this morning?! Who authorized that? And why wasn't I called?!" Jared growled out._

_ Mandy sent Bella a sly sideways wink. She sighed and shook her head. Vanessa was going to murder Anthony when she came back. Bella had been two steps ahead and now she was four steps backwards. "Perhaps we should let them talk?"_

_ Jared watched them leave and turned to Bella. "You ok?" He asked cautiously, not liking the way she was watching him._

_ Bella sighed. "You should be with someone else." She finally muttered only just loud enough to hear her._

_ His eyes went wide at the same time his jaw dropped in shock. "What'd you say?" He wondered._

_ "I'm not getting any better. And I don't want you to waste your time." She admitted._

_ Jared shook his head and held her hand in his, kneeling beside the bed. "I'm going anywhere and I'm NOT letting you give up either." He promised her._

_**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )**_

_**(September)**_

_ Bella smiled and leaned back into the plush cushions of the chair she sat in, a content sigh escaping her lips. She'd been cleared to go back to work part of the time, and had been with her class in the mornings for a full week now. Jared had been true to his word. He'd stayed with her every day she was in the hospital. He'd even told the hospital that if Anthony came anywhere near her again, they'd have to explain just why it was the man had a shoe stuck up his rear end and two black eyes to the authorities. And that was AFTER the hospital was sued for a great deal of money for their poor treatment of one of its best patients._

_ She looked up from the arm chair when the front door opened and gasped quietly. Everyone was here- even Seth, Collin and Brady. They'd all come to see how she was doing. She turned to Jared and smiled when she saw him watching her. This was the first time all of her friends had been together in the same room with her since her accident. She had him to thank for that._

_ Paul came over and sat beside her. "Hey little B."_

_ "Hey Paul." She said with a smile._

_ He watched her closely for a minute before letting out a sigh. "He loves you, you know."_

_ "I know he does. I'm lucky to have him." She answered him._

_ "Then why tell him to leave." Paul teased._

_ Bella smiled ruefully. "Because at the time, I thought he'd want someone better. Someone he could take on dates, and love." She said with a small shrug._

_ Paul chuckled. "Bella. He can do that with you. And he does love you already. He's the one guy I actually WANT to see you with. So… no more breaking my friends heart… I don't do all that emotional stuff… Sam and I had to ask Emily to drag it out of him. It wasn't pretty… he cried. You made him cry, Bells."_

_ Bella rolled her eyes. It was said a little too dramatically that she knew he was playing around, but not at the same time. "Ok. I promise. Now go get Leah. I can't wait to have this brace off." She said with a huff of annoyance._

_ Paul grinned. "It's only for a little longer."_

_ Jared walked over and sat on the floor by her feet. His chin was resting on her thigh and he smiled when she carded her fingers through his hair. "I love you Bella." He murmured._

_ "I love you." She told him with a smile._

_ "Happy Birthday." He grinned._

_ Bella smiled. "Best birthday. Ever." She replied._

_**(~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ )**_

_**(October)**_

_ Bella frowned and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't like the outfit she had on and it showed with the way her lip curled and her eyes glared at her in the mirrors reflection. She turned her attention then when she heard a scoff from behind her._

_ "Don't be so hard on yourself, Bella, you look amazing." Leah sighed._

_ "Easy for you to say. You're not the one with a ton of scars." She muttered darkly._

_ "You look fine!" Leah assured her, adding the finishing touches to her own costume- she made a gorgeous Cleopatra._

_ Bella sighed and turned to appraise herself in the mirror again. Her hair was down and covering her left eye slightly while the rest framed her face and a pin stripe fedora sat slightly tipped on top of her head. She wore a low cut, v neck pin striped shirt that bared roughly four inches of skin at the bottom. She wore a low rise, pin stripe gartered skirt that attached to thigh high fish net stockings. Black and white four inch stiletto heels completed the outfit- much to Bella's displeasure._

_ Emily chuckled from the doorway. Her costume was less elaborate than her friends, but no less fitting. She'd always loved wolves, and now she was dressed in a daring Red Riding Hood costume. Bella leveled a glare her way through the mirror and huffed. Emily merely smirked._

_ "I told you, Jared is going to die when he sees you." She said with a grin as Leah applied a bold red coat of stain to Bella's lips._

_ "And Sam won't die when he sees you?" Leah teased._

_ Bella rolled her eyes. "Like Paul won't drool over you. Unless you kill him first." Bella quipped with her own grin on her lips._

_ They all shared a laugh and stepped out of the bedroom. She and Jared were hosting a Halloween party for their friends this year, eager to find a way to have something normal after the months of pain and stress. Paul, Sam and Jared had agreed to dress up as the counterpart to whatever character the girls chose for them. Paul was Alexander to Leah's Cleopatra. Sam was the hunter to Emily's Red Riding Hood. And Jared…_

_ Bella stood frozen in the entrance to the living room taking him in. he was dressed in a tight black button down dress shirt with pin strip pants and a pin stripe vest to go with it. His outfit accented his toned form with almost sinful perfection. She licked her lips unconsciously as he stood watching her with desire smoldering in his eyes and a panty melting smirk dancing on his lips. The silver tie he wore matched the silver pin stripe fedora that sat tilted on his head. _

_ "Breathe girl. Just breathe," Leah murmured before moving to join Paul to talk to their friends. _

_ "Come on Bella. You'll be fine." Emily patted her shoulder and eased herself into Sam's arms giving him a gentle kiss._

_ Their friends watched the pair through the night. Most had heard that Bella had tried to shove him away at one of her lowest points. They didn't understand why she would want him to go, but seemed sympathetic when they heard her reasons. In her own twisted way, she had thought she was freeing him of a burden. They had all heard of his steadfast and unwavering devotion to her though, and smiled when they saw the two together and happy again. Seeing Jared catering to her every need- even when she didn't know she needed it- made them all see theirs was a love made to last anything._

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**(November)**

"You nervous?"

"A little. Do you think she'll say no?"

"To you?"

"She's tried to shove me away once already… it's crossed my mind."

"I think she'll cry. And then she'll be yours for the rest of your lives."

The cashier behind the counter cooed at the conversation between the two strangers in front of her. One of them was obviously going to propose. She rang up their totals and handed the taller of the two their change wishing them a good day. She sighed and wished that she could find someone who looked like that.

For their part, Sam and Jared didn't look twice at the teenager behind the counter of the gas station they had stopped in at to get their coffee. They were opening the shop today while Paul took Bella to her final appointment. Jared hadn't even begged for the time off, even though it had been offered freely. Even Bella understood. Jared really did love his work, but he loved her more. He also knew that through the months of Bella being in the hospital, he'd put a lot of weight on his friends shoulders. He wanted to try and take some of it back onto his own now that she was well and truly on the mend.

The truck was parked and they were in through the back door setting up for the day before either of them actually realized it. Sam sighed and looked at Jared, eyeing him thoughtfully. "When are you going to ask her?"

"Soon. I was thinking at Billy's Christmas party. I have to talk to Charlie first. I want to do it right."

"He'll say yes for sure. He's just like Paul and I." Sam assured him.

Jared grinned. "I hope so. After all this… it's not like anything much can tear us apart."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're putting a lot of pressure on Paul and I, you know that right?" He teased.

"You asked Emily on the beach at sunset. If I remember right, it was the exact spot you met her at… right?" He retorted.

"True. But she loved it." Sam grinned.

"And Paul proposed on valentines day AFTER inking Leah's name into his chest. If I remember correct YOU drew that one for him." Jared grinned.

Sam laughed. "Ok, ok, I get it. I get it. You won't outshine us. Not unless it's a perfect moment." He grinned with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"I already have it planned out. Just… if I ask you guys to do something for me, would you do it?" He wondered.

Sam tilted his head to the side. "What's up?"

"My grandma's ring needs to be cleaned and resized. I was kind of hoping Emily or Leah would tell me her ring size so they can work on it in the store. But, do you think you could pick it up for me?" Jared wondered.

"I'll take Paul with me when I go. Just let me know when." He told him without hesitation.

Jared's reply was cut off by his phone ringing. "Speak of the devil." He muttered putting the phone on speaker. "Hey, Paul, you're on speaker."

"Wrong guess baby. But it's still good news." An amused voice answered.

"Hey baby girl. Where's your phone?"

"It died on the way over here. I forgot to charge it last night."

Sam grinned. "That's so you. So what's up little B?"

They could almost see her bouncing with excitement. "I got the brace off and I'm good to go back to work full time!" She squealed.

"Baby! That's awesome!" Jared said, his eyes dancing with pride. Sam was humbled to see the love his best friend had for his girl. It was a sight he thought he'd never see again.

"What about your appetite. What'd they say?" Jared asked her when they had settled down.

They heard Paul scoff in the background. "They upped the dosage of the meds I'm on now and told me to give it time to work through and that the nausea should go away." She said with a small sigh.

"We'll get there baby girl. I promise." The ding of the doorbell overhead signaled to them there was someone in the front of the store. "I gotta go beautiful. I'll see you at home tonight."

"I love you Jay. Have a good day handsome." She told him before hanging up.

Jared grinned and put his phone back in his pocket before schooling his features into that of the gruff tattoo artist they all knew him to be. Inside, he was counting down the hours until he saw Bella again.


	13. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Thanks you guys for all the reviews this has gotten, as well as the follows and favorites. It always amazes me to see that people are enjoying the stuff I come up with. The next chapter is written out, I just need to get it edited.

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Chapter 12

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(December)

Bella sighed and leaned back against the plush cushions of the leather couch she was sitting on. When she had moved in with him, they had quickly decided that all of her furniture save for the bookshelves and knickknacks were to be put in storage in her dad's garage so that her friend could decorate the apartment however she chose. Jared's masculine apartment had been transformed almost a week later into a more homey place with a definite woman's touch. It was still classy, but there was definite evidence that a woman now shared his personal space.

She smiled as she graded another math test. It had been seven long and very hard months since the car accident that had taken away her unborn child. For six months that followed, Jared had gone with her to every physical therapy appointment, even held her hand while she sat through the follow up doctors appointments. He held her at night when she cried and helped her into the showers and baths on the nights she was just too tired to do it for herself. He had proven to her that she could rely on him, and their relationship- a bonded gift from the spirits they both believed in- only strengthened because of it.

Bella looked up when she heard keys in the door lock. She smiled when she saw Jared coming in with a bag of food in one hand and their mail in the other. Behind him were their best friends, all of whom greeted her as they walked in with Paul closing the door behind him.

"Hey baby. Do you need any help?" She asked making to get up.

"No, I'm alright. Sit down babe. I'll bring dinner to us after I get the plates." He said before leaning over the back of the couch to kiss her lips in a gentle kiss.

A gagging noise behind them had Bella giggling. "Shut it, you." She told Leah.

Leah schooled her features into the picture of innocence. "I didn't do anything!"

"You ALWAYS do something! Geez, don't try that innocent act. And Bella! It's Winter Break! You're working still?" Emily huffed playfully before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Bella giggled. "Uh huh. I want to get these graded and out of the way now so I don't have to worry about it when school starts again."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"I have to agree though Bella. You're pushing yourself again. Work's not going anywhere." Sam said gently.

"So what brings you guys here?" She asked when everyone was seated. She pointedly ignored their barbs which amused them greatly.

Sam grinned. "We missed you. Now that you've been back in school for the last couple months since the therapist cleared you. How are you?"

"It still hurts every so often. I was told I have to walk with a cane until New Years, but I'm ok. I've been given a full bill of recovery." She said with a smile when Jared handed her a plate. "OH wow! Em… Lee… you guys.. This is amazing!" She groaned.

Paul shook his head. "Glad you're eating again. Did they change your meds?"

Jared pulled a face and Bella huffed. "After what… a month of them telling me it was just adverse affects?"

Emily shook her head. "I'm surprised they didn't listen to all your concerns. Then again, the doctors in hospitals are awful to begin with."

"Not all of them are bad. But from the sounds of it, Bella's doctors were kind of rotten." Sam said.

Jared nodded. "Yeah. About that. I finally went with her and made them listen to reason." He grinned.

"Yeah… threatening to 'beat the fuck out of the next person to tell his woman that she just needs to adjust to the medicine' actually did it. They got doctor Simmons to come in and take a look at me. As my primary doctor, he knew how much I should weigh versus what I actually do. He changed the meds then and there. Jared just smirked at the doctors in the hospital and said as calm as could be, 'thank you for listening' before he walked out behind me."

Emily grinned. "Well, I'm glad you're able to eat now."

Leah grinned. "Bella, if you get rid of him, I'll kick your ass. This one's a keeper."

Sam and Paul merely clapped Jared on the back. They were both pleased to learn that Bella had him in her corner rooting for her when she was too tired to do it on her own. Paul had been surprised to learn that in one of Bella's darker months she had tried to break up with Jared- to free him from the burden of a crippled girlfriend. He was honestly shocked that Jared simply told her to shut the hell up and just like that, they were right back on the same track.

"Hey, Jay, come talk to me for a sec?" Paul asked nodding towards the kitchen.

Sam rolled his eyes. 'Smooth.' He mouthed. Leah and Emily saw it and bit back amused snickers.

Jared grinned and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Come get a beer Sam. I've got to do dishes. I'll be back in a few baby girl."

Bella nodded. "Yeah, ok. I've got Leah and Em. Have fun bonding over beer and cars." She teased.

Paul shook his head and followed Jared and Sam into the kitchen. "First off, I just want to say thank you. Second off… here." He set a black velvet box down on the counter in front of Jared.

"Why are you thanking me Paul? I should be the one thanking you." Jared said looking to Sam for some kind of help. Sam merely shrugged.

"I'm thanking you for making her happier than I've ever seen her. You stuck with her through this… and… I mean… I know Sam never told you much about high school… but… seeing her again like that… for the same thing… then to hear that… that she might not have woken up… most guys would have cut their losses and walked away." Paul said with a small sigh.

The silence was thick for a few minutes as they all tried to get the thoughts of what Bella had looked like in the hospital out of their heads. Jared finally cleared his eyes and started loading dishes into the dishwasher.

"Did they give you guys any hassle?" He wondered. There was, after all, precious cargo in that box.

Sam shook his head. "Not a lot. They tried to say it couldn't be resized because it was so old and it had been resized once already, but a look from Paul had the guys in the back scurrying to do as he wished."

Jared snickered. "Why can I see it happening?"

"Cause I'm a scary dude." Paul grinned.

"No… that's not it… what was it again Sam?" Jared mused.

Sam smirked. "He's the jolly green giant." He quoted Bella before he started snickering quietly.

Paul rolled his eyes. "yeah, yeah. Laugh it up fuckers."

Jared shook his head and opened the box. His grandmother's ring sat proudly on display in the center. The band was even polished as well as the gems. He had given it away carelessly once before, and his grandmother had shown him from her place in the heavens that his choice had been wrong. He only prayed that this time, he would be allowed to keep Bella in his life.

"You good bro?" Paul wondered.

Jared nodded. "I've never felt like this honestly. Bella… she's… things were never like this for me and Kim." He said quietly. "Your sister is definitely something special."

Sam grinned. "That's Bella for you. She's always been able to draw people to her. And I've never liked a SINGLE one of the guys she's brought around. None of her friends have."

"Gee… thanks." Jared huffed.

Paul snickered. "Before you at any rate. I overheard Embry and Quil betting how long it would take for you to ask her."

"I talked to your dad last night…. Won't be too much longer now." Jared told them.

"How'd that go?" Paul and Sam asked at the same time.

Jared smiled. "Have you ever heard a country song called Stealing Cinderella?"

Sam groaned. "Bella LOVES that song."

"Yeah, it's about how I can describe it. And Bella still doesn't know. So try not to say anything just yet. I told him I wanted to wait for the Christmas party at Billy's house next week… he's completely cool with it, so no saying anything before then to her!" He huffed.

Paul grinned and held his hands up in a placating gesture. Sam was quick to make his own promises of secrecy- again- before they made their way back to the girls. Bella smiled when she saw them coming back.

"Took you long enough. I thought I'd have to send Leah and Emily to drag you back to us." Bella teased.

Jared grinned and lifted her off the couch into his arms before situating her in his lap. He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. They settled on a movie as Bella finished eating. She relaxed against Jared's chest and sighed in utter contentment when he wrapped his arms loosely around her. By the time the movie was over, Bella had passed out in the warmth of his arms and the comfort of friends and family around her.

( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~)

Charlie sighed and paced back and forth yet again in Billy's living room. He ignored the curious glances he received from his friends' children and blatantly told Harry and Billy where they could shove it when they began to snicker. Bella and Jared would be arriving soon and he was anxious to see her reaction to Jared's early Christmas gift.

"Are you going to tell us what has you so upset?" Hailey asked with amusement sparking in her eyes.

"Not yet. And Billy, Harry, you hush. Don't think I can't see the smirks on your faces." Charlie grizzled, only half joking.

Seth, Leah and Jacob arched their eyebrows in surprise. Before they could ask what was going on, Sam and Emily were being led in through the door by Paul, Embry, Quil, Collin and Brady. Leah grinned and purposely pulled Paul under the mistletoe. Harry shook his head at his daughters antics but couldn't say anything. They were engaged after all.

"Well?" Charlie asked when Paul pulled away from Leah with a grin.

Paul smirked. "They're on their way with Bella's jeep. Bella wanted to get all the gifts put in the car just right so that nothing got jostled. They're picking Renee and Phil up from the air port and then they'll be here. Relax old man."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "You're not too old that I won't put you over my knee boy." He teased.

Jacob arched an eyebrow. "I don't even want to know." He then dragged his friends down the hall to his old room to play Halo.

"We're going for a walk on the beach. Come on Emily." Leah said dragging the surprised girl out the back door with Paul and Sam hot on their heels.

Harry sighed. "Why does it seem like no matter how old they get they're never grown?"

Billy chuckled. "Because they never are. I wish my girls were here this year. Becca can't come… her kids are sick and their doctor says they shouldn't travel. And Rachel couldn't make the drive down. The weather is too bad right now. I got to video chat with them earlier, but… it's not the same." He sighed.

Charlie sighed. "Keep your mouths shut…" He warned, the secret finally weighing on his shoulders.

"Of course." They chimed together.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Women." He quipped.

Billy and Harry pulled the exact same face. "Now wait a minute!" Billy started to protest.

"Jared is asking Bella to marry him tonight." Charlie said in one go before they could say anything else. He went on to tell them about Jared coming to see him the week before and the plans the boy had made to make it a night Bella would never forget.

The air deflated out of their sails and both Harry and Billy closed their jaws at the same time. "Well then." Harry said before clapping Charlie on the back. Billy only shook his head. He understood now. He'd be the same way if it was one of his girls.

An hour later saw everyone back in the living room waiting for Jared and Bella. Jacob grinned when he heard the familiar sound of Bella's jeep horn. "They're here." He said needlessly.

"Is she still peeved because she can't drive just yet?" Embry snickered.

Paul nodded. "Oh yeah. She about bit the doctors head off. She said she feels fine and hates using the cane. But he told her if she didn't and something happened it would only set her back and she'd end up back in the leg brace."

Jacob shook his head. "Come on guys, lets go help them." He said before throwing his jacket on and heading out to greet Bella and Jared.

Quil rushed out the door and was the first to greet the couple, grinning like the mad hatter himself as he gently pulled Bella into a hug. "Missed you loca!" He crowed.

Bella laughed along with her mom. "I missed you guys too. Don't tell me you three were fighting over my hugs again." She scolded gently.

"We just miss you Bells! Hey Jared." Jacob grinned offering him a grin and a wave. He turned to Renee and pulled her into a bear hug. "Missed you aunt Renee! Hey Phil." He then greeted Phil with a hand shake.

Jared smiled and waved before pulling the bag of presents from the back seat. "Hey guys. Can one of you carry Ms. Limps-a-lot inside? She refuses to use the cane." Bella rolled her eyes when her mom and Phil began to laugh along with everyone else.

Embry smirked. "Sure thing." He said before sweeping her into his strong arms.

"Em… does your girlfriend know you've got another woman in your arms?" Bella teased.

His eyes widened. "Who told you about that?" He whined.

Bella smirked. "You just did. I want to meet her you know! As one of your best- ok as your ONLY female best friend- I need to make sure she's not gonna break your heart." She teased. Embry grumbled good naturedly and followed a snickering Jacob and Quil into the house.

Jared shook his head and followed them all inside. Bella was passed from one person to the next as they took turns saying hello before she was placed on the couch. He caught Charlie's eye and grinned. It was a look that said pretty soon. Charlie sighed and willed himself to relax. There were only so many people in the room who actually knew what was going to happen. Not even Renee had any idea that after dinner, when things had calmed down, Jared would be stealing Bella away to propose.

"Relax old man." Paul teased quietly.

Charlie clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a weak grin. "She's my baby girl. You just wait until you have one of your own. You'll see." Paul merely grinned and walked off to talk to his friends. He clapped Jared on the back to let him know he had his support still.

Dinner was a lively affair. Bella regaled them all with stories of her class and their antics down to Jared's competition- a little boy with bleach blonde hair and piercing blue eyes who admitted that he wanted to marry his favorite teacher Ms. Swan. They all roared with laughter when Bella told them she had to explain to Jordan that they couldn't get married because she already had a boyfriend. Jordan had told her that he would just have to fight the boyfriend and steal her away for himself like princes did for princesses in the story books.

"Poor Jared." Sam smirked.

Jared shrugged. "I told her to be lucky she didn't teach teenagers. Maybe now she'll believe me. At least all I have to compete with is an 8 year old." He smirked.

Bella rolled her eyes. "There's no competition baby. You win, hands down." She told him with a smile.

"Dude! Don't inflate his ego! We have to work with the guy!" Paul teased.

"HEY! My ego isn't that big! Nothing compares to YOUR ego Paul." Jared grizzled good naturedly while Paul only shrugged, not denying it at all.

Charlie smiled. He looked around the table at his friends and family basking in the love he felt for them all. In no time at all, he'd be gaining Jared as a part of his family and he couldn't be more pleased. "Ladies, Sue, Hailey, Joy… that was amazing!" He said when dinner was over.

Bella smiled. "It really was you guys." She added as everyone thanked them for dinner. Jacob, Quil, Embry and Seth all stood to clean the kitchen. They shooed everyone else out into the living room and laughed when Bella pouted as she was scooped up into Jared's arms.

Sue smiled. "Thank you. Come into the living room when the dishes are loaded into the dishwasher. I think Billy wants us all to relax." She said kissing Seth on the cheek.

Ten minutes later found everyone relaxing in the living room. Jared smiled and looked around at his friends and family before excusing himself to the bathroom. He came back moments later and made a show of sitting in front of Bella on the floor. She frowned slightly at him before pushing it from her mind when he engaged Sam in conversation. If something was wrong, he'd tell her.

Paul smirked and watched when Sam leaned over to turn the radio on. By special request, at 9pm exactly, the song Stealing Cinderella flowed from the speakers. He mouthed 'show time' and Jared nodded.

"Hey Bella?"

Bella smiled and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Dance with me?" He whispered.

She smiled and nodded. She trusted that he wouldn't let her hurt herself and even laughed when he spun her around off the floor in a small circle before gently placing her on her feet. His voice was soft in her ear as he started singing along with the words in the song.

She forgot about everyone watching them. She forgot there was even anyone there in the room with them. She was in his arms and there was no where else she'd rather be. By the time the song ended the grin that had been on her face fell slightly when Jared knelt in front of her. They were under the mistletoe, she noticed. They were supposed to kiss, he wasn't supposed to be kneeling in front of her like he was about to…Bella's eyes widened slightly.

"Baby, what's going on?" She asked him.

Jared took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Where do I start? Ever since I met you, literally knocking into your life, you've been a constant in my thoughts. You're the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I'm so happy that you agreed to take a chance on me after what happened before. I love you, Bella. I want to fall asleep every night for the rest of forever with you in my arms. I want to wake up and see those gorgeous eyes staring back at me every morning. You've taken a hold of my heart and breathed so much life back into me."

The room was silent as Jared spoke to her softly. Bella moved her astonished eyes from his face to those around the room and found equally astonished gazes staring back at them. She almost missed it when he took a black box from his pocket. She gasped when she realized what was happening.

"I was told once, that this ring was meant for the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life loving. I should have waited the first time and really listened. Thank god my life took the path it did. Otherwise I'd still be looking for my forever. Bella, you're my forever. Please. Will you marry me?"

She was stunned speechless as he opened the box to show off his grandmother's recently polished ring. A tear rolled down her face. She couldn't say anything, instead she just leaned down and kissed him softly. It was Leah who brought them back out of their bubble.

"Well?! You have to answer him Bella!"

Bella grinned. "Yes. Of course, yes!" It was whispered but the entire room heard it. Cheers and laughter could be heard a block away and Jared slipped the ring on her finger. Her arms went around his neck and she hugged him close. "I love you so much baby. I'll never forget this." She told him honestly.

Jared smiled. He hoped she never would.


	14. Chapter 13

Author's Note:

Ok, so I fibbed. This one is the last chapter I'll do this way. But… since the other one worked so well… I figured I'd gloss of the wedding plans as well . Hopefully it'll go as well as the other chapter I did like this.

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Chapter 13

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_(__**January**__)_

_ Bella sighed and let her head fall into her hands as she sat in the recliner. She was pouring over brochures for wedding venues in Port Angeles, Forks and even Seattle. Jared had given her free reign over the wedding planning, not having any idea what to do to help. He looked up from the show he was watching and smiled at her lovingly._

_ "What's wrong baby girl?" He cooed as he held his hand out to her in an open invitation._

_ She moved only long enough to walk from the chair to perch her body on top of his. "I'm getting a headache." She whined._

_ "My poor baby." He muttered against her lips. "Can I help at all?"_

_ She smiled. "Do you WANT to?" She teased him._

_ "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I don't want you stressed either." He told her honestly._

_ Bella smiled and turned so she was facing him with her knees on either side of his waist. Her arms wound gently around his neck and she grinned when he turned the TV off to give her his undivided attention. She rested her forehead against his and smirked when she heard his breath hitch after her hips shifted more comfortably against his._

_ "Tease" He quipped with a smile on his lips._

_ She left a trail of kisses across the skin of his jaw up to his ear, nipping on his earlobe. "You like it."_

_ Jared groaned and pulled her body slightly against his. He smirked when she shuddered in anticipation. His hands roamed her back, stopping at her skirt clad bottom to pull their hips flush together. Their lips met in a passion infused kiss, their tongues battling for dominance that she quickly gave over to him._

_ "I want you." He groaned in between kisses._

_ Bella moved her lips over his skin, pausing to tease the sensitive skin of his neck. She had found the spot on accident one of the times he'd given her free reign over him. She loved the way he bit his lip and clenched his eyes closed in an effort to keep quiet. If she teased him enough, she'd have him begging her to let him fuck her- begging her to ride him so he could watch her come undone above him._

_ Jared gasped quietly, his dick almost painfully hard as her hips wound seductively against his. "Please, baby girl. I need you." He groaned._

_ "Jay." Bella whispered. Her hands moved down to the waistband of his jeans, making quick work of the button and zipper, in order to free him from the confines of his prison. Smirking when he all but sighed in relief, her hands moved up his body under the shirt he wore to tease his skin lightly._

_ Jared didn't give her an chance to protest as he ripped the thong she wore from her body and quickly slid his cock into the slick walls of her pussy. He smirked when she shuddered and threw her head back in pleasure. He left tender kisses to the column of her neck before she looked at him and started to move. Their coupling was slow and sweet. Jared showed her in his actions how much he loved her. He knew she wanted things perfect for their wedding, but he hated what it was doing to her- the stress she was putting herself under wasn't healthy._

_ Bella sighed and kissed him, a smile on her lips as they lay together on the couch afterwards. "Love you." She chimed, breaking the silence._

_ "Love you too, baby girl." He cooed. He groaned when a knock sounded on the door. "Can I tell them to go away?" He asked already knowing who it was._

_ Bella giggled and kissed him again. She stood and smoothed her skirt out, allowed him time to make himself presentable and made sure her thong was thrown away. When she opened the door, she couldn't help but release a groan of frustration. Emily and Leah stood in the doorway with magazines in hand waiting to help her plan. _

_ "Kill me now." Was all she said as she let them in._

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_(__**February**__)_

_ Jared watched his phone dance across his work station, not phased too much that it was the fourth time in as little as twenty minutes that it had sounded off. The client on his table smirked slightly as he watched Jared's leg starting to bounce. He'd been sitting for an hour now waiting patiently for Jared to finish the tattoo- a picture of a snarling pit bull wearing a set of dog tags that had his unit and the date of his discharge from the marine corps- that was being inked into the skin of his shoulder. Jared eyed the phone again when it went off a few minutes later, failing to hide the grin on his face when he saw Bella's face on the screen as he got another text._

_ "Girlfriend?" The man asked curiously._

_ Jared couldn't fault him his curiosity. The phone was sitting out in the open after all. He merely nodded. "My fiancé. I asked her to text me with options or decisions she and her friends made with our wedding."_

_ The man was impressed. "You must really love her to subject yourself to that." He teased._

_ Jared grinned. "I do. She's amazing." He said before focusing his attention back on the tattoo._

_ The man in question- a detective who'd just moved to the area from Seattle- grinned. "Hold onto her then. Never go to bed angry after a fight."_

_ "You been married long?" Jared asked._

_ "About 14 years now. I married my girl right out of high school. Best move I ever made." He laughed quietly._

_ Jared's phone went off again. Paul poked his head in with a smirk. "My sister bugging you yet?" He asked._

_ "Nope. I told her to text me. She knows I'll get back to her. I made her promise she'd text me even though I'm with a client." He said not looking up from his work._

_ Paul rolled his eyes. "I'll call her and see if Leah and Emily are stressing her."_

_ "Thanks Paul." Jared said with a smile._

_ The detective arched an eyebrow. "Your friends sister?" He asked with a teasing smile on his lips to show he meant no harm._

_ Jared actually chuckled. "Yeah. It was unexpected, but no where near unwelcome."_

_ "Well, congratulations. Is that her?" He asked noticing a picture of the two on Jared's station. The picture was one that Paul had caught of them. Bella had her arms wrapped around his neck and his were around her waist. Their lips were pressed together in a sweet kiss while the wind whipped her hair around them._

_ "Yeah. That's my Bella." Jared grinned with pride in his voice. _

_ The detective watched Jared refocus himself on shading in the tattoo he had picked out. The man had to admit, Jared was quick and skilled. He'd definitely be leaving him a tip if he could get away with it. His almost sole minded focus on the task at hand reminded him of himself and his line of work._

_ It was a few minutes later when Paul walked back over to them. "I just got off the phone with the girls. They finally decided."_

_ Jared arched an eyebrow but otherwise remained quiet. His focus was on his work and the detective had to smirk. The man was good. He made a mental note to send his friends their way for any future tattoos. He watched Paul, the bride's brother while Jared worked on his arm. He was obviously texting someone, judging by the smile on his face it was a girlfriend._

_ "Leah said, and I quote, 'tell Jared Bella is being kidnapped by me and Emily for a girls night out tonight- totally against her will since all she wants to do is stay inside and pout.' She also promised to have her home by 10." Paul said with a roll of his eyes._

_ Jared grinned. "Ok. I'll text her later. What colors did that decide on?"_

_ "Oh, um… horizon blue and silver. They're also going with the beach- finally. Uncle Billy said ok."_

_ Jared smiled. "Five more months." _

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_(__**March**__)_

_ Bella sighed and laced her fingers through Jared's as they made their way through Seattle traffic. She hated the city sometimes- mainly because she didn't like the traffic. Her frown turned into a small smile when Jared lightly squeezed her hand. His grandmother's ring gleamed happily in the light of the rare sunny day as they drove to meet his mother for lunch. _

_ She had asked to see them when they had a chance- she hadn't seen Bella since before her accident and she missed the woman who had stolen her son's heart. Jared had been leery of it at first, but he loved that his mom and Bella got along so amazingly when she had so openly hated Kim._

_ "What's wrong, Jay? You're frowning." Bella teased._

_ He grinned. "Just thinking. So much is different this time around."_

_ She knew instantly what was on his mind. He had told her everything that happened between him and his ex. She had never hated someone she'd never met so much. "It will be." She promised bringing his hand to her lips and placing a gentle kiss to the back of it._

_ "It will be." He echoed. It was a promise he knew would be kept by both of them. _

_ He pulled into the underground parking garage of his mom's apartment complex and sighed. He'd grown up here, but he still couldn't help but yearn for the quiet and easy way of life the reservation promised. He waited for Bella- who insisted on opening and closing her own car doors at least- before taking her hand in his and whisking her to the elevator that would taking them up to the ground level._

_ Once they were inside, they got into another set of elevators and made their way to the seventh floor. His mother was one of four tenants on the uppermost level of the building and she loved it. Bella thought she was certifiably crazy for it._

_ "You okay baby girl?" He teased. He knew she didn't like heights. _

_ Bella glared playfully at him. "You're gonna get it later on tonight, Jay." She threatened._

_ Jared stopped them and pushed her gently against the wall. "Don't make promises you won't keep baby." He warned as he pinned her with one of his legs between hers. His lips were teasing and playful before he sucked a bruising kiss from her neck. He pulled away after a minute and grinned at his handy work._

_ Bella sighed and shook her head. "Was that really necessary?" She asked with an arched eyebrow._

_ "Took your mind off things, didn't it?" He said with a cocky grin._

_ She rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his arm. She gasped when he hissed in pain. "Oh baby! I'm so sorry! I forgot!"_

_ He'd had Sam ink in his latest tattoo- twin dragons entwined around an hourglass- into his left bicep. "It's fine. It just stung a little. Hey, I'm alright." He cooed when he saw her almost in tears._

_ "You promise? I hate hurting you." She smiled when he placed a gentle kiss on her lips._

_ "Come on. If my mom finds out I made you cry she'll tear into me. She loves you, you know." He said with a grin._

_ "I love her too! She's amazing." Bella told him honestly._

_ Five minutes later, they were sitting on the couch in the apartment Jared had grown up in. "Oh look at you! You've healed well!" Linda cooed to Bella._

_ "Thank you Ms. Mason." Bella said with a sweet smile._

_ "Please, call me Linda. You know better than to be so formal." She quipped lightly._

_ Bella smiled. "I know, I just… my dad would have a conniption fit if he heard it."_

_ Linda smiled. "He's a good man. And speaking of which. Have you chosen a song for the father daughter dance yet?"_

_ Bella smiled. "Yeah, but I'm kind of stuck for my step dad. And my mom and step mom are getting tribute songs to them- they just don't know it yet."_

_ Linda smiled. "Well, I think that's sweet! If you need any help, let me know. I'll take some vacation time to come and help you out." She said._

_ "I'd like that, if you're free. I don't want to intrude."_

_ Jared sighed. His eyes rolled to the ceiling with a small smile on his face. 'Thanks grandma.' She had pointed him in the direction of his happy ever after._

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_(__**April**__)_

_ Bella grinned. She was bouncing in her seat as she waited for her mom, Hailey, Leah and Emily to arrive. She'd been up since six in the morning- on a Saturday- and had been ready to go since eight. She'd found her dress online and had had it shipped to the closest store to her as she could get it. _

_ Luckily for them, there was a David's Bridal store just two blocks away. Jared shook his head and watched her. He'd woken up to the entire apartment almost gleaming. He knew her mom was coming into town and mentally braced himself for the whirlwind that was Renee Dwyer. _

_ "You gonna be gone all day long baby?" He wondered._

_ "Not sure. Leah and Emily need to find their bridesmaid dresses and I know Hailey said she wants something to wear too. Mom said she's got something in mind but she wants to look and see what she can find for just in case." Bella said with a roll of her eyes._

_ He laughed and watched her dance around the kitchen putting dishes away. When she passed close enough to him, he reached out and pulled her into his lap. He grinned when she squealed in surprise. "Gotcha." He whispered against her lips._

_ Bella grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yeah. You do." She murmured before kissing him soundly._

_ A throat clearing from the kitchen doorway had them both turning their heads to see who was there. Paul and Sam snickered at the annoyed frowns that marred their faces. Paul rolled his eyes and shook his head. He held his phone out to show them the four missed calls from Bella's mom._

_ "Oh shit! She's there already!" Bella hissed before jumping up and rushing to the bedroom._

_ Jared sighed and let his head drop backwards to look towards the ceiling briefly. "Why… just why!" He muttered._

_ Sam smirked. "Come on. Let's go to work and get a few things done. The girls should be back by then."_

_ "Should be. Baby girl, I'm leaving." He called._

_ Bella ran out of the bedroom completely ready to go. She hugged each of them and headed down to her car. It took her all of fifteen minutes to reach the bridal shop and another five to find a parking place and head inside. She rushed into her mom's arms and hugged her tightly._

_ "You're early!" Bella playfully scolded her mom._

_ Renee shrugged. "It's not everyday your only daughter marries the man of her dreams."_

_ Bella grinned. "yeah… you wanna see my dress?"_

_ "Of course!" Renee said, her excitement echoing Bella's. _

_ The sales associate took them back to the back where Bella's dress as well as four or five more dresses were waiting. She told them they always did that, just in case the bride tried the dress on and decided she didn't like it. It wasn't ten minutes later that Hailey, Leah and Emily showed up. They had hit a light patch of traffic on the way up, but the irritation left them when they saw the dresses._

_ "Ok, Bella. Dazzle us!" Leah teased._

_ Bella smiled and followed the sales associate to the changing room. Her dress was floor length, strapless and light. The bodice had a strip of flowers to decorate it. With it, she paired a log sleeved, lace jacket. The effect left her stunned. It was gorgeous. They gushed over the beauty of it and agreed that Bella had found the perfect dress._

_ After another hour of shopping, Leah and Emily found their dresses as well, as had Renee and Hailey. The sales associate took her measurements and made an appointment for her to come back one more time before the wedding. The girls grinned and thanked her before heading over to see Jared, Paul and Sam. Things were coming together nicely and all that was left was to decide on was the type of invitations and the food they were going to serve. It could wait. Bella wanted to spend some time relaxing._

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_(__**May**__)_

_ Bella and Jared smiled and thanked the man in front of them who had held the door open to let them pass by. They were heading into their local scrap booking store- Pictures In Time. They offered a wide variety of wedding invitations that Emily had told them about. The girl behind the counter eyed the couple before frowning when she saw Bella's ring. Bella couldn't help the smug smile that flitted across her face._

_ "Behave." Jared whispered. He'd seen the smile too._

_ Bella arched an eyebrow. "I didn't do anything." She said innocently._

_ "Okay baby girl." He teased. He secretly loved how possessive Bella got sometimes. She wasn't loud about it like Kim had been either. She was subtle and would come over and slide her hand up his chest so that her ring was showing in a girl got too handsy. He had to quell a groan- it was a turn on for him if he admitted it._

_ "Come on. Emily said they'd be over here." Bella said pulling him gently away. She slid her arm around his waist and her hand into his back pocket as they walked. _

_ Jared couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Are you having fun showing me off?" He teased quietly._

_ "I don't know what you're talking about baby. I'm walking beside you." She said with a knowing and teasing glint in her eyes._

_ "Mhm. And the sun is shining outside too." He retorted playfully._

_ Bella grinned. "She needs to know you're taken but I'm not going to cause a scene." She sniffed._

_ "I love you." He whispered before turning to look at the different invitations._

_ Bella smiled. "Love you too Jay."_

_ Jared grinned and held up a silver card stock invitation with a dark blue solid line running around the border. "What about this baby? These are close to your colors right?"_

_ Her eyes lit up. "Baby! It's prefect!" She said with a grin._

_ Jared grinned and noticed the girl behind the counter glowering at Bella. "No babe, you are." He said before swooping down to kiss her soundly. He was hers as much as she was his. Just two more months to go and the whole world would know it._

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_(__**June**__)_

_ Bella stepped out of the bathroom in a black halter dress and walked over to Leah. She turned and lifted her hair out of the way. "Hey, zip this up for me please?"_

_ Leah's eyes widened. "Holy HELL! Where'd you get this?!" She crowed._

_ The dress had three stripes on each side that had been cut out and it stopped mid thigh. The neckline showed enough of her cleavage to be sexy, but still covered enough to be classy at the same time. "I found it in 5.7.9 the other day." She grinned._

_ Leah eyed her again. "You sure you'll be able to get away with that? I know you. You hate getting attention from guys most of the time."_

_ Bella smirked. "Yeah, but… Jay's gonna be there. It's one of the reasons we agreed on sharing the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Tonight though, we're all going out to relax. It's been a long few months. Jared even agreed that we could all use some downtime away from the wedding planning to just let go." She said zipping her 4 inch stiletto ankle boots._

_ Leah eyed her again and shook her head. She pulled her own boots on while Emily finished her make up. They were dressed similarly. Both of them wore pleated, plaid mini skirts, however Leah wore a dark green halter top while Emily wore a frosted pink halter top. All three of them wore their hair up, knowing full well the club they were going to would be hot inside with all the bodies in such close proximity to each other._

_ The drive to the club took them no time at all. They'd been there so often that the bouncers knew them by sight and let them cut through the lines to be among the first inside. Leah sent a text to Paul and grinned when her phone vibrated back not three minutes later. Paul was sending her a patented S.O.S._

_ "Come on. They're over by the bar. It's time to show off that little black dress, Bella. Paul just sent me an S.O.S" Leah grinned._

_ Emily's phone vibrated in her hand. She snickered and showed them Sam's S.O.S. as well. "Jared's quite the looker tonight, huh."_

_ Bella's eyes flashed dangerous. "Jared is off limits." She muttered following her friends to the bar. She glared when she saw the girls standing on either side of him. Paul and Sam smirked when they saw the girls sauntering over. Paul nodded his head towards them and Jared sighed in relief. He moved one of the girls hands from his person again before turning to see his gorgeous fiancé glaring daggers at the two. Things were about to get interesting._

_ It only took Leah, Emily and Bella five minutes to stake claims of their respective partners. It wasn't too long after that Bella had Jared in a darkened corner on the dance floor with her. Their bodies were flush together with her back to his chest. His arms were around her waist and her arms were behind her back and wrapped loosely around his neck. They were in their own little world as they moved to the beat of the pounding bass._

_ "My beautiful fiancé." He groaned when she pushed her bottom against him, teasing him with her body._

_ "Yours." She agreed before pulling him down to kiss her._

_ Jared's eyes widened when she pushed his hands just below the hem of her dress. He looked down at her, saw the smirk on her lips and pulled her that much further into the corner. His questing fingers moved higher and he let out a groan when he realized she wasn't wearing anything under her dress. _

_ "You're trying to kill me before you have my last name aren't you?" He wondered._

_ She smiled. "No. just trying to tell you what you'll have later tonight."_

_ Jared sighed and titled his head back. "One more month, Bella. Are you sure you're ready to be mine?"_

_ She smiled at him. "More than I ever have been in my life." She answered with desire dancing in her eyes._

_ "Fuck it. We're leaving. I need you. Now." Jared growled. He sent Paul and Sam a text telling them he'd see them tomorrow and started to pull Bella out to his car._

_ "Wait. I'll be back ok?" She grinned. She found Leah, handed her the keys to her car and told her if anything happened to her baby, Leah would be buried before she could say 'sorry'._

_ Bella and Jared left then. They made it home in record time and took full advantage of the quiet. She had been honest. She was counting down the days until she could call Jared her husband._


	15. Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

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(July)

It had been six months of planning, dress hunting, saving, little fights, work, time spent both together and apart, flower and decoration designs and everything else in between. With her wedding taking place on the beach, she was a little leery of having a full length dress until Jared had suggested they use a sheet or something of the like to walk across. With that, Emily and Leah went to work hunting down a train of white fabric that would be perfect for her to walk across in her silver two inch heels.

Leah and Emily had made her dream wedding come true right before her very eyes. They had two white canopy tops strung together over the entire area where Jared and Bella were to be wed in case of rain, and the decorations were minimal but gorgeous in their placement and design. It was simple but elegant. Bella's choice colors had been a horizon blue and silver. They were amazing together, and with the paper lanterns hung around the canopy tops, it made it seem like they were being married under the stars.

Now, a solid month after the final preparations had been made and the checks had been cleared, Bella stood in front of her friends and her mom and her step mom in a full length, strapless jersey dress with a floral design in the front on the bodice. She was gently taken from her thoughts as she stared at herself in the full length mirror when her best friends steered her over to the window of her uncles house. She looked down and saw her friends and family milling about as they waited patiently for her wedding to take place.

She hadn't seen Jared since the night before last- her father asking that they keep to that tradition at least- and her breath caught when she saw him dressed in a pair of beige slacks and a white button down dress shirt with the top two or three buttons undone. He was gorgeous. Paul and Sam noticed her in the window and steered Jared away so he wouldn't see her, smirking as they went. She sighed and shook her head at their antics.

"Not too much longer Bella. Then you'll see him every night. It gets boring." Emily teased.

Leah grinned. Having just recently come back from her own honeymoon, she couldn't help but disagree. "I don't know. I love waking up in the middle of the night and seeing Paul sleeping beside me."

"Don't you do that every night ANYWAYS?" Bella teased.

Hailey and Renee laughed with the girls. "Take it from us girls, a good marriage will only get stronger with time. You'll fight, sure. No couple is happy all the time, but you should never go to bed angry. Cherish all the time you have. You never know when it can be ripped away." Hailey told them wisely.

Bella smiled at them- Leah and Emily dressed in their crinkle chiffon high low halter top dresses and both her moms dressed in floor length halter dresses all of them in a horizon blue color. They looked stunning. Each of them wore silver bracelets and bangles on their arms and fussed over Bella's hair and make up. They couldn't help but tear up and told her under no uncertain terms that if she messed up her eyeliner or mascara, they'd skin her alive.

Renee and Hailey had woven small silver and blue flowers throughout her hair as well as making a crown of them out of the extra ones not used. With tears in her eyes, Renee placed the crown on her head and kissed her cheek. Hailey placed a strand of pearls around her neck before she could protest.

"This is your something old. They belonged to my great grandmother. I don't have a daughter of my own, but you're the closest thing to one I have. Please, keep them safe for me." She whispered.

"I promise."

Emily grinned at her, her eyes mischievous. "This is your something new. It's from Jared." She said holding out a long black velvet box.

Bella opened it with slightly trembling fingers and gasped when she saw the white gold bracelet sitting inside. It was delicate and simple and completely expensive. She smiled when she saw a note from him.

_ I wanted to put this on you myself. I know you say you don't need things like this, but I saw it, and I thought of you. Please, wear it for me. I swear to you I won't do this all the time, but the price it cost is worth it if I can see you smile and walk towards me with it on your arm._

Leah and Emily cooed over it when she passed the note around. Renee was the one to point out that it had been engraved. A date as well as the phrase '_Os meum es aeternum_' was written on the back.

"What's it mean Bella?" Emily asked.

Bella smiled. "It's the date we met. The phrase means You are my forever."

"AWWW!" Bella smiled and blushed as Renee helped her close the bracelet around her wrist. It was her turn to present something.

She pulled a pair of diamond earrings from a small box and placed them in her ears. "These are MY something old to give. Hailey and I talked and she and I both agreed we'd break with tradition a little and forgo the something borrowed. These have been worn by the female heirs in the Black family for ages now. They were passed to me when I married your dad, and now I give them to you. Treasure your love Bella. Guard it, keep it safe, and help it grow. You'll never be unhappy if you do." She told her tearing up.

Leah was the last one to give Bella something, the comic relief of sorts. She smirked as she pulled out the something blue from a small bag on the bed. Bella tried to protest but Leah wouldn't hear it. The garter, a lacey blue almost see through material fit snugly against her thigh. When her dress was settled to the floor again, Bella admitted that she could barely feel it.

A knock on the door interrupted the quiet moment the women were having as they all stared into the floor length mirror Bella was in front of. Hailey opened the door a crack and smiled when she saw Reverend Webber standing on the other side. "If you don't mind, would it be possible to talk to Bella for a moment?" He asked.

She smiled and nodded waving them in to see her. The women in the room made themselves appear busy as he promised it would only take a moment and he didn't want to seem inappropriate by staying unattended with the bride to be.

"You look so beautiful Bella." He smiled wistfully.

She smiled shyly- a perfect picture of a blushing bride. "Thank you Mr. Webber."

"I admit, sometimes I still think of what would have happened if Angela had lived… but seeing you, I know she would have been just as happy. Her mother and I, we wanted to give this to you. We were saving it for her, but… you stayed by her side, kept her safe when she was at that party that night. Please, take this. It would mean the world to us." He said holding up Angela's old charm bracelet- the one she had been given as a small girl.

Bella gasped. "Oh…" Her eyes welled with tears and it was then that Renee could no longer pretend she wasn't in the room. She held Bella as Angela's dad closed the bracelet around the wrist that had previously been bare. It was a simple silver band with classy charms dangling from it- a pair of ballet shoes, a silver heart, a small set of rings and a silver cross.

"It suits you. And I think… I hope… I know, she's watching over you." He said kissing her forehead.

Renee patted his arm. "Over all of us." She corrected him. He nodded and promised to meet her at the end of the aisle so he could wed her to her prince charming. With that, he was gone and Bella was fussed over once again.

"Oh baby girl." Renee sighed gently.

Bella smiled. "I never thought I'd miss her so much." She told them honestly.

Leah had known her, not as well, but she knew how close she and Bella had been. "They never really leave you know. She's here. I think it was her who told her dad to give it to you. She's telling you to be happy."

Bella grinned. "I am happy Angie." She smiled and looked up at the fluffy clouds rolling overhead. They were broken from their thoughts by a sharp knock on the door. Charlie poked his head in with his eyes closed.

Hailey rolled her eyes along with Renee. Bella, Emily and Leah giggled. "It's alright daddy."

Bella smiled when she saw the tears in his eyes. "It's time to get lined up baby. My god you look so grown. Where did my little girl go?" He asked when they were alone in the room.

"It's still me!" She huffed with a grin. "You're gaining a son, not loosing a daughter." She told him gently.

"I'll have to think about that." He teased.

The wedding march started before she had time to answer. "Don't let me trip, okay daddy." She whispered when all eyes turned to her after Leah and Emily were in their spots.

"Never. You ready?" Charlie wondered.

Bella nodded and together they made their way down the aisle. Jared's breath caught when he saw her- the vision of a goddess making her way to him on the arm of her father. Paul had to clap a hand to his shoulder and tell him to breathe. Sam chuckled quietly and promised him it would never fade- the feeling of awe after first seeing her.

She smiled and took his hand after Charlie proclaimed loud and clear that he was giving her hand away freely to Jared. She stood facing him, their hands joined together, and smiled shyly.

Angela's dad waited for the crowd to hush before he gently cleared his throat. He had been asked specially by Bella to marry them. He smiled and opened his bible to the verse Bella had asked him to read specifically. He had been surprised yet pleased that she remembered her bible verses and glanced now over the book before reading from Corinthians 13: 4-13.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boat, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self- seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love."

The rest of the words were muffled as Bella and Jared stared into each others eyes. They made it through their vows, heartfelt words written by their own hand, before Reverend Webber asked Jared if he would love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of his life. He answered with a simple, 'I Do' to which she likewise returned. The rings were placed on their fingers and Jared was asked to kiss his bride.

Cheers and applause rang out over the beach as their lips touched. They broke apart with smiles on their faces and made their way back up the aisle hand in hand. Neither one felt they could be any happier. The drive to the reception hall in the tribal center was short and Leah instructed them that they were to wait until either Paul or Jacob came to get them before they could enter.

"How do you feel?" Jared asked while they were waiting.

Bella smiled and turned to face him. "Wonderful. I don't think I've ever been so happy." She said honestly.

"You wore my bracelet." He said with a grin remembering how he promised her in the note he sent that it would make him really happy to see it on her.

"I did." She agreed. "And Angie's."

Jared raised an eyebrow. "Angie's?"

She nodded and proceeded to tell him the story. He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. "Leah was right. It's her way of telling you to be happy."

"I'm so happy. I promise you that." She grinned.

Their kiss was broken up by a tapping on the window. Jared rolled his eyes. "Here we go." He said when he noticed a police officer at the window.

"Is there a problem officer?" Jared asked.

The officer looked down his nose at the couple. He tried to hide his smirk. Charlie had asked him to escort the two inside. "I'm going to have to ask you two to come with me. It seems that you're wanted inside by a rather large group of people."

Bella's jaw dropped. "My dad put you up to this huh."

Jared snickered. "Oh wow. I forget sometimes your dad is the police chief."

The officer laughed and walked ahead of them into the building, holding the door for them as he did. They were met with loud cheers and applause from their friends and family. Bella spotted her parents and waved happily at them. Seth allowed the crowd to settle before he called everyone to order. He promised them that they would get a chance to eat but first, there was a special man who wanted to share a dance with his daughter before she wasn't his to hold anymore.

Bella's eyes welled with tears as she laid her head on Charlie's shoulder. The crowd watched with hushed smiles as Bella and Charlie danced to Heartland's, I loved Her First. None present had it in their hearts to poke fun at Charlie when they saw the tear roll down his face as the song ended. He was after all saying goodbye- in a way- to his only child.

The next half hour was spent dancing and laughing. Bella and Phil explained to everyone why they chose to dance to the song Dixie Lullaby by Pat Green. It was one of Phil's favorite songs and one that he had taught Bella to play, along with the fact that Phil was born and raised on country music. It was Bella's way to honor the roll he played in her life.

Renee and Hailey cried when Bella chose to honor them with songs as well. 26 Cents by The Wilkinson's for her mother and In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride for Hailey. They hadn't expected it and Bella told them at their thanks that it was simply her way of letting them know they were loved. Paul too, was pulled into a dance by Bella- Leann Womack's I Hope You Dance. She pretended she didn't see the tears in his eyes at her thoughtfulness.

The last one to have a special dance was Jared and his mother. The woman who had fallen head over heels in love with Bella the moment she had met her. It had shocked the life out of the man since it had taken his mother almost a year to speak civilly to Kim. He pulled her to the dance floor as Sara Evan's song, You'll Always Be My Baby began to play.

The guests all laughed when Bella shoved a piece of cake into Jared's face as Billy Currington's Must Be Doing Something Right played in the background. Paul had to shake his head at the look of surprise on his friends face. He should have known by now what a sneak his sister could be. Sam merely smirked and held Emily close to his side, his arms ensnared around her waist. Leah too chuckled as her head rested on Paul's shoulder while she watched her friends.

The toasts to the bride and groom were filled with laughter and tears. Jacob stood to tell Jared what a handful he was gaining in the form of his favorite cousin. Bella promptly told him that she would return the favor when he was married. She cried when Charlie stood to tell her how proud he was of her, and how happy for her he truly was. They watched as Jared held her close and kissed away the tear that fell down her cheek.

Sam nudged Paul and nodded to Seth. He smirked and stood in the center of the room. "Ladies and Gentleman, can I have your attention please. Are we all having a good time…yeah, I know, I know. It's a wedding, who's not enjoying it?" He smirked when Bella frowned and narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"So… anyways, Bella, you're one of my sisters best friends… one of my good friends… and it's my privilege to embarrass you again, one more time at least. Come out here hon, have a seat in this LOVELY little chair. Oh, and… bring your prisoner- I mean husband with you why don't you." He teased causing everyone to laugh merrily.

Bella stood slowly and was all but dragged onto the dance floor by Emily and Leah who had seen fit to speed things along. Seth played Selena Gomez's song Come and Get It before taking up the microphone again. "Now… can I have all the single guys over in the corner… come on… if you haven't figured it out by now, Jared gets to toss the garter!" He chirped. His laughter rang free as Bella smacked her forehead, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

Jared took pity on Bella and lifted her chin with his finger. He kissed her lips lightly before dropping to his knees. "Quick and easy baby. I promise." He cooed before lifting her dress over his head. He pulled the garter down her leg with his teeth a little ways before nipping lightly at her skin causing her breath to hitch. He had a smirk on his lips when he emerged with the garter twirling around his index finger.

"Woo hoo…talk about a show. Sorry Charlie, looks like your baby is all grown up now." Seth couldn't help but rib the man he thought of as an uncle. He stopped when he saw the look of warning on his mother's stern face. "Oh alright. I'll behave…throw it Jared!"

Jared grinned and shook his head, kissing Bella on the cheek. He smiled apologetically at both his mother and Charlie before turning his back on the small group of single men gathered in the corner. With a final look over his shoulder, he flung the lacey band into the air, turning to watch in amusement as they pushed and shoved one another. It came as no surprise when it was Quil who caught it by jumping into the air.

Bella rolled her eyes and laughed as Emily brought out her bouquet. Seth changed the music to Christina Aguilera's Candy Man. As before, he called all the single ladies in attendance to the same corner and teased Bella about making sure to not hit anyone in the face. They watched as Claire- ironic since she was dating Quil- caught the bouquet of dark blue hydrangeas and white baby's breath flowers easily in her hands. She blushed and shrugged when everyone whooped and made cat calls to the couple.

Another hour was spent dancing with friends and family. Laughter filled the reception hall as well as hugs and tears of happiness. It came as a welcomed surprise when both Rachel and Rebecca showed up. As Bella had told them, it was better late than never. Rachel went to find her father while holding tight to the hand of her boyfriend. He looked nervous to be surrounded by so many muscular men who seemingly easily had the heart of his girlfriend. He couldn't help but notice all the curious stares from them as he passed by.

Rebecca drew Bella's attention back to her. "I'm so sorry I was late. They called us at the last minute to let us know that someone had canceled. I'm glad I got to at least see you in your wedding gown. You're so beautiful. I can't believe my baby cousin is all grown up." She sighed.

"Becca, it's ok! I'm happy you could make it too, but we talked. I knew why you wouldn't have been here. I know uncle Billy will be thrilled too!" Bella grinned.

"Yeah, I talked to him too. It's Rachel's turn to talk. And I think her boyfriend is going into shock." She giggled as they watched him talking to Billy while Jacob, Paul, Sam and Seth all gathered around Rachel to say hi.

"So, listen. Dad told me you and Jared aren't going on a honeymoon just yet. Is there a reason?" Rebecca asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bella shrugged. "We're going to save up some more money first. We wanted to take a few weeks off, but we'll probably just take a vacation next year." She said.

"Well, Solomon and I were thinking…" She said when he came over to wrap his arms around her, "Why don't you and Jared come down to visit us for a week. We'll pay for your tickets. We have a guest house right on a private beach. What do you say?"

"Becca! I can't ask you to do that!" Bella was humbled by her offer.

Rebecca smiled. "It's my wedding present to you. Hey Jared! Come here for a sec!" She called to him.

Jared smiled and greeted them, surprised to see them now. "Wow, hey guys! I'm glad you made it!" He said with a grin.

Solomon smiled. "No way we'd miss her baby cuz's wedding! Now all you need to do is convince her to take our gift!" He teased.

Jared arched an eyebrow. "What gift?"

Bella smiled. "They're paying for us to stay in their guest house on a private beach for a week in Hawaii."

"Oh wow! Guys! That's too much! Tickets alone are really expensive!" Jared tried to protest.

Solomon waved him off. "It's not a problem. I've done really well with the tournaments this year. We have money saved. And you're family. This is what family does. We help one another!" He said with a smile.

"So… you'll come then, right?" Rebecca needled.

Bella and Jared smiled. "Of course." They said together. Bella grinned and hugged her tight. "Thank you." She said kissing her cheek. She laughed as she was swept into a dance with Solomon.

Jared sighed. "Thank you Becca." He grinned and swept her into a dance- one of the final ones of the night.

It wasn't long after that, that Jared and Bella were thanking everyone for coming and telling them of the gracious gift bestowed upon them by Rebecca and her husband. Bella kissed her dad on the cheek, the same as she did with all the men close to her in her life. Living half of her life on the reservation, each of the men standing around her now held a very dear place in her heart. Jared shook hands with Charlie and Billy and hugged his mom tight to him. He couldn't have been happier if he tried.

They were surrounded by friends and family as they climbed into Jared's car. The drive to their apartment building was over in what seemed like mere moments instead of the hour or so that it really too. Before they walked through the door, Jared swept Bella into his arms, laughing when she let out a tiny squeal of excitement. They were to pack their bags and leave for the airport in the morning. Their tickets would be waiting and from there, so would a week in Hawaii.


	16. Chapter 15

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**Chapter 15**

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(**July**)

The chill of the room awoke Bella after only a few blissful hours of sleep. It was early still, and upon searching the time from the grandfather clock in the corner, she confirmed that it was only four in the morning. She sighed, growling under her breath about not getting enough sleep. Their week in Hawaii had consisted of lazing about on the beach, visiting popular tourist sites and then spending each and every night wrapped up in each others arms after spending an hour or two with Solomon, Rebecca and their kids.

Last night was the first time that Jared had really let loose and to say she was thrilled about it was an understatement. She attempted to stand, finding her legs were still shaky from previous activities. As she slipped from his arms, she silently prayed Jared would stay asleep. He had done the majority of the work last night pleasing her- seeing as he had had her legs pinned over his shoulders with her hands tied to the headboard above her head- it was only fair to him that he sleep in a little longer.

"Bella? Baby, you ok?" She bit back a chuckle when she heard his husky voice filled with sleep and worry. '_No such luck on him staying asleep._' She mused inwardly.

"Just got cold. Turning the AC on worked wonders when we were still all hot and sweaty… now its not so fun. I feel like I'm in an ice box." She whispered smiling softly as she looked over her shoulder at her husband and best friend.

Jared grinned. "Come back to bed. I want to hold my wife." He told her.

Bella smiled. "Then I guess I should get closer to my husband, shouldn't I?" She teased. Jared chuckled when she climbed back into bed. He smiled when he heard Bella sigh in content as his toned arms circled around her waist.

"I love you Jay." She hummed quietly.

It was his turn to sigh quietly in content as he kissed the skin just below her left ear. "I love you too." He admitted just as quietly. He noticed their reflections in the large dresser mirror and groaned quietly. He dropped a kiss to her shoulder, moving his lips lightly across her neck.

Bella sighed when he nibbled on her earlobe catching his eye in the reflective glass. She moaned when his index finger rubbed her still sensitive clit ever so lightly. "Tease." She gasped.

"I want you." Jared growled in her ear before two fingers disappeared into her already drenched folds.

"T-tell me how bad." Bella half moaned, half growled. She watched his eyes in the mirror, one of her arms snaking up to wrap around his neck to pull him that much closer.

Jared sucked a hard kiss from her neck, "Why don't I show you instead?" He whispered against the shell of her ear, his lips close enough she could feel them moving as he talked.

Bella let out a gasp of pleasure as his fingers hit her g spot deep inside her aching core. She pulled away long enough to sit him on the edge of the bed, returning to his lap with her back to his chest. He bit his lip to hide the groan he wanted to let out when he caught their reflection in the mirror. He moved his fingers back down her body before sliding them home in her drenched center.

"You like this don't you." She growled as she bucked against his fingers. "You like watching me ride your fingers?"

"God yes! Ride my fingers baby. Let me see you cum for me again." He whispered, his voice husky with lust. "Fuck you're so wet."

"Almost… oh God! I'm so close." Bella moaned, her head dropping back against his broad shoulder.

"That's it, let go." Jared groaned in anticipation. "Cum for me." He encouraged her, his fingers meeting the thrusts of her hips in a punishing tempo. Their eyes locked onto each others through the dresser mirror and Bella's breath hitched as she watched herself writhing in pleasure on her husband's fingers.

"Yes… yes… I'm gonna…" Her sentence was never completed as her back arched and her body froze. Her eyes were wide and a long drawn out moan left her lips. Jared smirked, his fingers withdrawing from her core after a few more slow pumps to draw out her orgasm, allowing her to fall limp against him.

"So damn sexy." He whispered against the sensitive skin of her neck as she almost melted against him.

He watched as Bella brought his fingers to her lips, her tongue darting out to swirl around the digits gathering her essence off of them, slowly licking and sucking them clean. She stood and slowly tuned, pushing him back on the bed till he was prone, her legs on either side of his waist. She teased the head of his dick with her dripping center as she stared down into his eyes.

"Do you want me?" She all but purred as she hovered over him.

Jared groaned as he watched the sexy brunette above him. He'd never seen this side of her, but he couldn't complain. He loved everything about her- she was his wife and he couldn't be any more thrilled with that fact. His hands flew to her waist, trying in vain to push her onto his aching need. He groaned again when she smacked his hands away.

"Answer me." She growled.

"Please Bella." He groaned, his eyes closing. He tried again to move her hips down towards his.

Bella swatted his hands away from her and rubbed the head of his dick against her clit before rubbing it along her soaking wet folds again allowing only a mere inch of him inside her. "Please what?" She asked as she moved away again, an innocent smile dancing over her lips.

"Fuck… Bella… please. Don't make me beg." His fingers gripped the comforter tightly in an attempt to control his raging urge to flip her over and have his wicked way with her.

Her lips attacked his skin, moving up his chest, teasing the bulging muscles of his neck, finally moving to just barely graze his ear. "Tell me what. you. want." She demanded her hips stilling once more, the tip of his dick barely entering her wet pussy again.

Jared growled in utter frustration. "You! I want you to ride my fucking cock! Now!" He all but hissed before grabbing a fistful of her wild hair and pulling her lips to his in a bruising kiss.

Bella impaled herself onto him then, both she and Jared gasping within the kiss at the sudden coupling. She sat up, her eyes half lidded with lust and smirked down at him as she began to move. Her hips met his, driving him deep into her welcoming core. She cried out as his hands brushed over her body, searing her skin into his mind. Her head fell backwards, her mane of tangled curls dropping over her back in a curtain as she bounced rhythmically on his straining erection.

"Feels so good." Jared groaned, his hands moving down to her tiny waist.

"Make me cum baby. I'm so damn close." Bella pleaded. "I wanna cum for you." She whined leaning back over his body to nip at a particular spot on his sensitive neck- the place he told her Paul was going to ink her name into his skin when they got home.

Jared pulled her flush to his toned body, their lips colliding together for a passion filled, bruising kiss. One arm slid around her shoulders, the other was holding her hips in place by the small of her back, over the curve of her pert bottom, effectively caging her in his arms. "You ready to cum for me baby?" He cooed, his voice dangerously sexy and filled with lust and desire.

Bella groaned, her lips sucking a bruising kiss from the pulse point of his neck- her claim on him to match the one on her own neck. "Please… please. Oh god, Jared, please make me cum." She begged quietly in his ear. Her nails dug almost painfully into his arms as her pleasure grew to almost more than words.

Taking that as his cue, Jared braced his feet on the bed, and, using the muscles in his powerful thighs, began to thrust as hard as he could up into her willing body. The brutal slaps of their hips meeting along with her screams of pleasured pain were all that filled the room; she couldn't move from his embrace which only added to her pleasure- all she could do was feel him surrounding her and filling her. She bit the flesh of his shoulder hard, causing him to grunt in mild pain as he continued his merciless thrusts. "Cum for me baby girl. Now." He growled. His hard cock filled her pussy full over and over, pushing them both towards the open arms of pure bliss.

"Oh fuck… yes… Jared!" Her screams as she gave over to the pleasure of release were music to his ears as her core tightened around him. He muffled his release in her neck and shuddered as he came, almost forgetting to breathe.

Moments passed in silence as the two steadied their racing hearts and ragged breaths. Bella tried to find words for what had just transpired. "That was…"

"Amazing?" Jared finished.

"Amazing." She admitted. He only chuckled and released her from the cage of arms he had kept her in.

Bella smiled running her fingers gently over his arms. She frowned when she saw the bleeding half moon nail marks. "Holy crow! Jared, I'm so sorry!" She said jumping up off the bed. She returned moments later with a first aide kit and started cleaning his arms.

Jared smiled at the look of concentration that crossed her face, endearing her to him all the more. "I don't mind. Bella, I promise… its alright... Besides, it felt damn good." He said gently.

"Doesn't mean I don't feel bad." Bella said relaxing slightly.

Jared grinned. "I loved it baby. They'll heal in a few days. Until then, I'll see them and remember the fucking amazing way you felt around me, and the sound of you screaming my name." He teased.

Bella sighed but chuckled none the less. "If you say so." She kissed each of the marks before laying a chaste kiss to his lips.

Jared chuckled. His laughter sent shivers through her body. "If it wasn't for your tender heart, I'd tell you to come work in the shop with us. I still say you can you know. You're an amazing artist.." He teased.

Her nose wrinkled adorably. "I prefer being a teacher thank you kindly." She retorted. Her head rested on his muscular chest, her body more than pleasantly relaxed, if not slightly sore.

"I love you, Bella Cameron." He told her after moments of silence passed over them.

Bella smiled and lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "I love you, Jared Cameron. Thank you so much for making me so happy." She whispered.

Jared smiled and brushed the hair off of her face tenderly. "It's me who should be thanking you." He laughed quietly when she yawned. "Go back to bed baby girl. It'll be daylight soon. Solomon and Rebecca said they'd come to see us before we head home." Bella hummed in reply and curled up against him. Together they fell back into slumbers awaiting embrace.

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The morning had flown by for Jared and Bella and before they knew it, they were being greeted by Sam and Emily in the airport. They wore excited smiles and greeted them with kisses to the cheek and pats on the back. Bella pulled her phone out to show Emily pictures as they made their way over to claim their bags.

"Sam and I agreed that we were going to Colorado for a week. We finally have some extra money saved up. Leah and Paul took Renee up on her offer and they're gonna use the plane tickets to head down to Florida this winter. I can't believe she only has two more months before she's officially related to you!" Emily told her as they were heading out to Sam's car.

Bella grinned. "I'm so happy for you guys. If it hadn't been for Becca and Solomon offering to pay for our tickets we would have done the same thing and waited." She told her honestly. "Uncle Billy was going to let us use his cabin for the week, but I'm kind of happy we went to Hawaii now. And I can't believe it either! But you know you're like a sister to me too!"

"Yeah, I can see you doing that too. I know. You're my sister too." Emily teased. She giggled when they piled into the car.

Jared shook his head. "So what'd I miss? Any crazy stories to tell?"

"Actually, yeah. Your ex came by. She noticed the new tattoo Paul inked into her boyfriend." Sam said with a raised eyebrow. He noticed Bella and Emily had quieted too. "I guess she wanted to tell you she made a mistake. However, Leah was also visiting Paul at the time."

Emily smirked. "Oh I remember that! That poor girl didn't stand a chance in hell of escaping Leah's wrath. Oh you guys are going to laugh so hard! Poor Paul and Sam had to call me to get my deranged cousin under control." She squealed.

"Do I want to know?" Jared wondered looking at Bella. She merely shrugged and turned her attention to Sam and Emily.

Sam grinned. "Your ex tried to tuck tail and run after Paul said you were on your honeymoon. Leah was waiting for her at the door though. As far as I can remember, Leah told her if she ever caught her 'good for nothing, washed out, used up, two timing, lying, shameful, mistreating, scrawny, skank ass' sniffing around for even a **hint** of Jared again then she'd wind up with a face so broken not even her own douche of a boyfriend would want to look at her with a paper bag over her head."

Bella and Jared looked at one another briefly before they lost it. Bella had tears streaming down her face by the time they finished laughing. It was just like Leah to insult someone that bad when she was pissed at them. Jared couldn't help but grin. Leah definitely suited Paul. They were perfect for one another. Bella and Jared were still laughing when they walked into their apartment. The honeymoon had been fun, but they were happy to be home. Now it was time to get back to real life.

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(August)

Bella groaned and rushed to the bathroom, barely making it in time to empty her poor stomach of the contents of her breakfast. She looked up when Leah and Emily followed her into the tiny room with identical looks of concern on their faces.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Emily cooed pulling her hair back from her face.

Bella groaned. "I've been like this for a little over two weeks now." She admitted to them.

Leah looked at her and frowned. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"I didn't want to worry anyone. And I wanted to see if…" She looked away and bit her lip.

"If…" Emily pressed gently.

Bella sighed. "I wanted to see if I'd get my period. We've been home for a month now. I wanted to rule out all the options before I made an appointment."

Leah handed Bella her toothbrush and took it back when her teeth were brushed before passing a cup of water to her so she could rinse her mouth out. "So?"

"I'm a week late." She said quietly. "I went out and got a couple tests yesterday… but I didn't want to take them just yet." She said pointing to the bathroom cabinet under the sink.

They all say quiet for a few minutes before Leah and Emily shoved the tests in her hands. "Take them. We'll be here when you're done, ok?" Emily told her firmly.

Ten minutes passed by before Bella re-emerged from the bathroom, both test sticks in her hands. A look of trepidation crossed her face as she set them on the kitchen sink. She glanced to her two best friends and sighed. "I couldn't look. I'm scared."

Emily smiled. She took Bella into her arms while Leah moved to peer down at them. She let out a tiny squeal before throwing her arms around both girls. "Congratulations momma." She cooed softly.

The girls dressed and Bella found a small box to wrap one of the sticks in before they headed down to Leah's car. In no time at all they were pulling into a parking space in front of Sam's tattoo shop. Leah grinned and looked at Bella. "You ready?" She asked before they headed inside.

"Not really, but come on." Bella grimaced.

Sam looked up when the bell above the door chimed. He grinned when he saw Emily, before slowly starting to frown when he saw Leah and Bella as well. "Hey, guys… our girls are here." He called to the back.

Paul and Jared rushed to the front of the shop in time to see Sam closing and locking the door with a sign that said 'Out to lunch'. Leah and Emily were smug while Bella looked a little on the jumpy side. "What's going on?" Paul wondered.

Bella took a deep breath and moved to hug Jared. She handed him the box and grinned. "We actually just wanted to see you guys. Is that so bad?" She tried- and failed- to lie as well as she had planned.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Right. And I don't believe you, why?"

Jared started at her for a moment before opening the box. He looked from the box to Bella twice. "Bella?"

"Yeah… it's right." She told him with a shy smile.

Sam and Paul jumped back, startled, when Jared let out an excited whoop and swept Bella into his arms. They looked to Leah and Emily who were grinning ear to ear. Even Bella was laughing. Paul turned to Sam with a raised eyebrow. "You feel like we're missing out on something?"

Leah took pity on him them. "Well, uncle Paul, are you going to congratulate them?" She grinned when realization dawned on their faces.

Jared was elated. "We're gonna have a baby." He whispered with his forehead resting against hers.

"We're gonna have a baby." She repeated.

Sam shook his head at Jared. "Wasted no time huh." He teased.

"Hush it, Sam. Although… I should call your doctor and tell him not to let you have anymore faulty birth control pills." Jared teased to Bella. He knew for a fact she took them every day.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Don't you two know anything?" She huffed.

"What are you talking about Leah?" Bella frowned.

Emily giggled. "Remember last month, right after you two came home, you were both sick…"

"Yeah, the food didn't sit well with us on the plane." Jared shuddered.

"No… it was that stupid guy in the seat in front of us. He sneezed all over your food baby. The stewardess took yours but left mine… guess he got my food too." Bella frowned.

Leah nodded. "Bella's doctor gave her antibiotics…. Right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with Bella's birth control?" Paul wondered.

Bella groaned and smacked her forehead. "Oh of course! Ugh how could I have been so stupid?!" She whined.

Leah and Emily giggled at the lost looks on Sam, Paul and Jared's faces. "Sometimes antibiotics can render birth control ineffective." Emily explained. She laughed at their stunned expressions.

Bella sighed too happy to really be upset over how she became pregnant. "I need to make an appointment with the doctor. But I've taken two tests and Leah saw them both. They both said they were positive." She told Jared quietly.

He merely grinned. "I'll make sure to be there with you. I can't believe we're going to have a baby."

"I'm the luckiest woman in the world right now." She replied before calling for a group hug. Paul and Sam grinned and kissed her cheeks and clapped Jared on the back. Things were definitely going well in their world. At least for the moment.

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Bella sat in the waiting room of her OB/GYN. Jared held her hand as she squirmed in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. She smiled when he brought her hand up to his lips to place a calming and sweet kiss to her knuckles. The woman sitting beside her cooed at the affectionate display.

"Is this your first child?" She asked.

Bella smiled. "Yes… well… it would have been the second. I miscarried the first." She told her honestly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear. I had two miscarriages before I was gifted with my son. Now I'm here with my daughter in law because he's overseas on deployment. Life will find a way." She told them.***

Jared smiled. "That it will-" He was interrupted by Bella's name being called. Before they left he turned to the woman. "Tell your son, thank you. For serving. Soldiers aren't paid enough to be torn away from their families." He said just low enough for her to hear.

The woman smiled and nodded her head. Jared righted himself and followed Bella into the room. They watched as the nurse took her vitals and then told her to have a seat on the bench and the doctor would be in soon. In what seemed like no time at all, there was a knock on the door and her doctor was poking his head in greeting them cheerily.

"Well now, I hear congratulations are definitely in order." He smiled at the two. "Now, based on your answers given to the nurse, you had your last period at the start of last month, yes?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, I've always gotten it the first of every month." She confirmed.

"Hmm, alright. Let's have you lay back, I just want to get your measurements. You're hcg were reading slightly higher than what would be expected- its nothing to worry too badly about, it could be an indication of twins. Do they run in your family?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "My mom's side of the family has had a set of twins every other generation for the past century it would seem." She huffed.

They shared a quiet chuckle as her doctor scribbled something onto her charts. "Alright, your still a little too early for an ultrasound, however, we're going to bring in a fetal heart monitor and see if we can't detect a heartbeat." He told them even as the nurse knocked on the door with the monitor in hand.

Jared shook his head in amusement. It was either there were listening devices in the rooms, or the nurses around these places had impeccable timing. He smiled at Bella when she grabbed his hand. She jumped when a blue glob of gel was placed on her still flat stomach, complaining of the cold. Within moments, the quiet room was bombarded with the sound of not one, but two feint heartbeats beating in almost complete synchronization.

"Jay… it's our babies." Bella whispered in awe.

He kissed her temple and grinned. "We're gonna be parents Bella." He whispered. "Thank you so much baby girl."

Both her doctor and the nurse pretended to be recording notes into her chart to give them a moment of privacy. They smiled when Bella sat up, the nurse handing her a damp towel to wipe the excess gel off with. An appointment was made for the following month and with that, Jared and Bella were off to tell their friends and family the good news. They were going to have twins. With that thought in mind they decided that, yes, while they were earlier than planed, it was just the next step in life and both Jared and Bella couldn't be happier.

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*** Kudos as to who can guess what movie I was watching while writing this . IF not, I'll tell you in the next chapter.


	17. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

So the movie I was watching… for those who may or may not have guess… was Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton was one of my favorite characters. And my kids absolutely love dinosaurs. So it was a win/ win situation. Lol.

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Chapter 16

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(October)

Bella sighed and leaned back against the chair in front of her desk. The kids in her class were working on their class work and for once everyone was behaving. It wasn't more than five minutes later that the principle as well as two officers- detectives by the looks of their suits- were knocking on her door. Bella was a little surprised as well as fearful. It was never a good thing to see an officer outside of a friendly visit with her father's deputy's.

The kids looked up and started giggling, complete distracted by the officers now walking into their classroom. Bella hushed them and told them to continue their work. She noticed that the principle had pulled a substitute into the class to keep the kids under control and smiled in thanks.

"Mrs. Cameron, my name is Detective Swafford, this is my partner Detective Holt." He said holding hand out to her. He remembered her from the picture he'd seen at Jared's work station. She was pretty then, but with the pregnancy glow, she was gorgeous. He mentally scolded himself. He needed to be subjective- she was off limits and he was married. He saw plenty of pretty faces during the day, but only one was worth going home to.

She shook their hands and eyed their badges briefly before looking between them with a small measure of curiosity. "Not that I'm not opposed to social calls from detectives, but… can I ask what this is about?"

"Straight to the point… you marry a cop or something?" Holt asked with a playful and boyish smile.

Bella shook her head. "No, my dad is the police chief of Forks. Did something happen?"

Detective Holt sighed. He shook his sandy blonde hair out of his face. His grey blue eyes danced in skepticism. "We have reason to believe that Edward Cullen is responsible for damage and defacing of the property owned by your brother, your friend and your husband. The front windows were shot out while there were people inside. Several large, fist sized rocks were thrown through the glass and both your husband and your brother were taken to the ER to be checked out."

Bella gasped quietly, her hand flying to her mouth. "Is he alright? Are they both ok? Was Sam hurt at all?"

"Mr. Cameron has minor cuts along his arms from the shattered glass as well as a slight head wound from one of the bullets grazing near his temple. Your brother has a few scratches to the left side of his face from the glass and a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Your brothers wife asked that we come here to check on you." Swafford said gently.

"When we arrived, your vehicle was damaged and vandalized as well. This was inside the front drivers seat." Detective Holt said, handing her a plain white piece of cardstock in a plastic evidence bag. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to tow your car out of the parking lot and impound it to collect evidence. Can you verify the handwriting for sure?"

_ You bitch! I'm going to lose everything because you took the native instead of me! How could you choose him when he has nothing to offer you?! I could have given you everything! You just wait. You'll regret it. I'll see to that!_

Bella shuddered. "That's Edward's handwriting." She whispered feeling sick.

"We have cameras in place if you need them." The principle chimed in while wrapping a soothing arm around Bella's shoulders. Knowing she was pregnant with twins, as well as her past history with her last pregnancy, the last thing she wanted was for one of her favorite teachers to have any amount of undue stress.

"Can I ask what he means? I know it seems pretty obvious, but we need a clear idea of how to proceed before we can press the issue." Detective Swafford said. His hair was dark, and neatly trimmed. He was overall well put together, though his green eyes were hard. Bella guessed he was probably former military.

"Yeah… um… Edward and I broke up a while ago."

"Can you define a while?" Holt wondered.

"Two years ago now… or almost at least. He's kind of well off. I guess his mom and dad didn't like his new girlfriend, so he came to me and told me he wanted me back. I learned later that he was going to lose his inheritance if he didn't find someone respectable. His sister Alice told me that."

"What made him so aggressive towards you?" Holt asked gently.

"I started dating again a few months after we broke up. My brother, his best friend and other partner- Sam Uley, even my husband told him to leave me alone. Edward didn't listen to me. He started having his sister stalk me when I'd go on dates. After they were over, before we'd get into the car to go home, Edward would make a scene. Usually it was idle threats.

When I started dating Jared, Edward got really aggressive and even more persistent. He put bruises on me a few times, and he was warned that if it kept up I'd get my father involved." She shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Forgive me, Mrs. Cameron, but if you were being harassed that much, why didn't you say something?" Holt asked.

Bella sighed. "Because he wasn't showing aggressive long term behavior at the time. It was more an inconvenience to keep me single. Half the time it worked, at least until Jared and I started dating. Paul knew, and he made it known that if it kept up, he'd say something. After that it stopped for a while.

Edward confronted me on valentines day last year. He left some bruises on my arm and provoked Jared and my brother. He got quiet after I told him the next time I saw him I'd go to the Port Angelas police. I guess he must have listened."

"Is that all there is to it?" Swafford asked. He had seen her hesitance.

Bella shook her head. "After I got home from my honeymoon in July, there was a package waiting. I don't think he knew we had been married yet. He had sent me a lot of really expensive jewelry and told me I could have more if I would take him back. I left in on his door step the next day with a note that said to leave me and my husband alone."

"Has he been stalking you since he found out you were married?" Holt asked shooting his partner a look. This was looking more and more like a clean cut case of revenge from an obsessive ex.

Bella shrugged. "He's been kind of quiet. I've heard more from his sister than I have from him. Now, if it's all the same to you, you've just told me my husband is in the hospital and my brother as well, but with gunshot wounds. I'd like to get back to my class so I can finish the day and go and see him."

Mrs. Johnson shook her head. "No sweetie. The substitute can cover your last two hours. You go and see how your husband is doing."

Bella smiled sweetly. "Thanks, but… I don't have a car to get there now." She sighed. "I'll have to call my sister in law to come get me."

"we'd be more than happy to give you a ride to the hospital. We have to take a statement from your husband and your brother at any rate." Swafford told them.

Bella smiled sweetly. "Thank you for that! I'd really appreciate it."

The ride to the hospital was met in an almost comfortable silence. The detectives had never seen such a calm force in a woman before. She was an enigma to them and they wondered where she got her strength from. She was young, and obviously pregnant, they figured nine times out of ten the stress would cause a woman- especially a pregnant one- to break down.

It didn't take them long to figure out that she was indeed just like every other woman they had encountered. It took seeing her husband bandaged and sitting on a hospital gurney to do the trick. While she didn't go into hysterics, she did still cry. They watched as Jared soothed her, telling her he was fine. Her brother was the next one for her to fuss over. It took her a few minutes to settle down enough to let them talk to the men at all.

"Mr. Cameron, I'm Detective Swafford, I don't know if you remember me or not- I was in your shop a few months ago." He said with a smile.

Jared grinned. "Yeah, I remember you. I just didn't realize you were a detective."

"This is my partner, Detective Holt. Can you tell us what happened earlier today?" He didn't want to be too personal with him. It would draw his credibility to be as subjective as possible into question.

Jared sighed. "I honestly don't know. One minute we're about to open up, the next I've got a rock grazing the side of my head. I got grazed by a couple bullets too. Is Sam alright? I didn't see him in here." He asked after a minute.

"Mr. Uley was still in the building talking to first responders when we arrived. He said he was in the back room when he heard the first rock hit." Holt told them.

Paul nodded his head. "Yeah. That's right. Leah and Emily sent over some food for us to have for lunch. He was putting it away while Jared and I went around the front getting ready to open. I saw the first rock smash the window and hit Jay. After that it's all kind of a blur."

"Your wife's car was heavily damaged as well, Mr. Cameron. We have reason to believe it was Edward Cullen there as well. Can you tell me, does this handwriting look familiar?" Detective Holt asked showing them the note.

Paul frowned and Jared's eyes went dark. "That's his." Paul said.

Jared sighed when he saw Bella shudder and look away. "I'm sorry baby."

Bella smiled. "It's not your fault. I love you, Jay. Please don't forget that. I married you. I chose you." She whispered.

Detective Holt sighed. "I want to ask you to please stay in the area. I don't want him to get bold and try to do this again. If you have anything else to add, here's my card, please feel free to call me. We should have plenty of evidence with the school camera's as well as witness reports of the stalking and harassment to place Edward Cullen into custody until he can go in front of a judge."

Leah smirked. "In other words, you're actually going to arrest his ass this time around?" She asked.

"Leah." Bella sighed. Paul tried to hide his smirk as he kissed Leah's temple and smiled apologetically to the detectives.

Detective Swafford smirked. "Yes ma'am." Was all he said. They said their goodbyes and promised to be in touch.

Jared sighed. He ran his hands slowly over Bella's growing stomach and kissed her shoulder. "How bad is your car?"

"It's a good thing you have a car too." She huffed.

"That bad?"

"Lets put it that way. I have no windows, headlights, tail lights or side view mirrors. The paint is scratched to high heaven and all four tires were carved into. As far as the cosmetic damage, my seats are completely ripped up inside, there's some kind of grease poured inside and the pictures of us that I had taped to my visor are completely destroyed." She sighed.

"Think Sam's dad can fix it?" Paul asked.

Bella shrugged. "I hope so! I love that car!"

"Hopefully the detectives have it all documented too. Your insurance company will have a field day otherwise." Leah huffed.

Bella's phone went off in her purse causing her to groan. She cursed when she looked at the caller id screen. "Hey dad."

She rolled her eyes and mouthed 'Emily' causing Leah to snicker. "No. He's fine. It was just surface cuts. They're only keeping him here because one of them grazed his head. No, Paul is ok too… it was a shoulder wound. No… oh here!"

Paul arched his eyebrow when Bella thrust her phone into his hands. Bella glared at him. "Talk to dad so he'll stop worrying!" She snapped at him.

Paul eyed Leah, silently praying she didn't get that crazy when they finally decided to have kids. "Hey dad… no, I'm fine. Yeah… yup. No, Sam is still there. He was putting our food away so he was in the back. Yeah, Jay is fine too…. No, just nicked his temple a little bit. Bella about went off on a nurse a little bit ago." He smirked when Bella whirled around to stare at him with her mouth open.

"I did NOT! Of all the insufferable-" Jared's chuckle quelled her outburst.

"Ok, so she didn't go off on anyone. But she wants to go off on Edward. Yeah, he messed her car up pretty bad from how she described it. Yeah. Maybe. Do you think you could ask him? Cool. Thanks dad, I'll tell them. Love you too. Bye." He hung up with a shake of his head.

"Well?" Bella asked.

Paul grinned. "He's gonna talk to Josh for us. And he also said we're all coming over for dinner this weekend. No excuses. Mom is having a fit and wants all of there so she can fuss over us."

Bella groaned and thumped her head against the wall. "He's got to go over protective now?" She whined.

It was two hours later that they were free to go. They piled into Leah's car and drove back to the shop. Bella cursed under her breath at the sight of the damage done. Their sign- Native Ink- was shattered on the ground. All of the front glass window almost was busted out from the rocks thrown at it. Paul only shook his head. It looked different in person versus hearing about it. Sam met them at the door with Emily next to him. They were all allowed to gather their things and then they were told they'd have to leave for at least two hours until they could get things boarded off.

Jared sighed and led them all back to his apartment. What had started off as a really good day had just gone down the drain.

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Carlisle Cullen was known to be a ruthless defense lawyer in the court room. He could have been a doctor or a surgeon, but he found his true calling the day he first joined the debate team when he was still in high school. He was a formidable opponent in the court room and had a success rate that was well and above his peers and colleagues. What shocked him, however, was when his son called him from the Port Angelas jail house to tell him he'd been arrested and asked him to post his bail.

When he traveled down to the station the following morning to learn the details of the arrest, he could only shake his head in astonishment. The things he was being charged with should have belonged with a different name. He had asked to see the detectives residing over the case and was surprised to see one of them was Detective Swafford. He had moved out of Seattle only six months earlier, but Carlisle had dealt with him a great deal throughout the man's career with the SPD. It was usually him with which Carlisle had the most difficulty. Serving in the marines for eight years made detective Swafford too thorough sometimes, and almost impossible to crack under pressure.

Watching him now as he interrogated his son, he was starting to see just why he had earned the nickname Old Bull- in addition to Devil Dog that he earned as a marine- in the sheriffs office. He was quiet, but he was surely making Edward squirm. He hadn't even taken out the photo's of the damage done, nor shown him the letter that was left on the front seat of Bella's car. It took less that thirty minutes for Edward to confess to the detectives in the room that he had indeed thrown each of the skull sized rocks into the window with the intent to harm both Jared and Paul.

Carlisle was horrified when he learned just how long he had stalked and harassed Bella- down to and including attempting to shoot both Jared and Paul as they went about getting ready to open their shop the previous day. The girl had always impressed him and his wife with her determination, poise and manners. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched detective Swafford pull a confession from the lips of his son- seemingly without trying- in little under thirty minutes.

He had been set to post his son's bail and smooth things over with a judge in order to keep his son out of lock up. He hadn't thought Edward capable of such atrocities. Hearing all of it, he looked at the defense lawyer to his left- the one trying to keep that from happening- and shook his head. The man was just out of law school and highly wet behind the ears, if he won and kept Edward from serious jail time, it would be a miracle.

"There's no way I can even fathom what was going on in my son's head. As far as I'm concerned, he can get himself out. I need to make some phone calls. Please excuse me." Carlisle shook the hands of the lawyer, then with detective Holt who had been standing in the room as well. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Carlisle made his way down the roads of Port Angelas. It took him all of fifteen minutes to find his destination, and when he was ready, he put the car in park, turned off the ignition and made his way inside.

A knock on the door and ten minutes of waiting later and Carlisle was greeted with the shocked and slightly apprehensive face of Bella Cameron. He smiled at her, trying to show her that he wasn't there to cause any trouble. "Hello Bella. It's been a while since we last saw each other."

Bella nodded. "It has. What can I do for you Mr. Cu- Carlisle?"

Jared heard the name and was at his wife's side in a heartbeat or less. He smiled and nodded politely, but his eyes were hard. "Is everything alright?"

Carlisle sighed. He understood why the hostilities were so high. "I wanted to come by today and offer my sincerest apologies for the actions of my son taken against the both of you. I understand that he was stalking you for quite some time, Bella, and I in no way shape or form condone such behavior."

Bella gave a tight lipped smile towards the man. She had never had any problems with him and had always found he and his wife to be relatively laid back for all the money they seemed to possess. "It's not a problem anymore Carlisle. It's in the past where it should lay."

"Would you allow me to pay for damages done to your shop then Mr. Cameron?" Carlisle asked.

Bella smiled. "Come on in Carlisle. I'll call Sam and my brother. Can we offer you a drink?" She asked as the door closed behind him.

"No. thank you. I hope I'm not imposing too much." Carlisle told them as he sat down.

Jared shook his head. He had nothing against Edward's dad. This was the first time he'd ever met the man. Both Paul and Bella always said he had been respectable and polite. He had to wonder what happened to his kids though.

It wasn't twenty minutes later that Paul and Sam were walking through the door followed by Leah and Emily. After a brief round of introductions, Carlisle got down to business and offered to pay the complete cost of repairs done to the shop as well as any charges not covered by Bella's insurance for her car. All in all, it was to be the full cost of Edward's inheritance. They were also told that Carlisle wouldn't be posting bail. If push came to shove, he could serve up to five years in jail for vandalism.

When he was gone, Bella curled up next to Jared and let the silence fall over the room. She, as well as everyone else, was shocked almost beyond belief that he would offer to pay for anything.

"It makes sense in a way. He's paying the damages with Edwards money. But it must mean he doesn't think he'll make it out of the court room unscathed either." Leah mused.

"I'm sure he doesn't. He has amazing instincts about the way cases will go. Carlisle was always ruthless in the courtroom. Edward told me horror stories about him. Most of the people he defended were guilty as sin, but Carlisle made them appear to be angels." Bella told them all.

Emily sighed. "Hopefully they won't draw it out too long." She mused. She grinned when they all agreed.

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(December)

Jared, Paul and Sam sighed when they walked through the door of Emily and Leah's bakery with Bella in tow. They had just gotten out of court. It had taken surprisingly little time at all for the evidence to mount against Edward. Alice had paid his bail, and they had appeared in court like they were supposed to. They weren't expecting to lose. His lawyer put up a good fight, but in the end, it wasn't enough.

The judge looked Edward square in the eye and told him that toddlers had more sense before handing him into the custody of the Port Angeles City Jail. The look in his eyes had been one of fury as he turned to look towards Bella and Jared. He had made to lunge toward them only to be held back by the court guards. It had shaken Bella up slightly to see him so angry.

A collective sigh was released when they sat together at one of the booths. Bella could breathe completely freely now. Edward wasn't dogging her every step and the shop had been completely repaired. Her jeep had been entrusted into the capable hands of her cousin and was due to come back to her in two or three weeks.

"Well, I'm glad that's over." Sam grinned, finally breaking the quiet that blanketed them.

"Me too. Maybe five years will teach him a lesson." Emily grinned.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I don't see that happening. I wish he could have just gotten it through his head. I hate all the drama that he caused. Right up until the end!"

Jared grinned at her. "Well there won't be anymore of that for a while. Not until the little ones get here." He said running his fingers lightly over her rounding belly.

Leah and Emily cooed at them causing Sam and Paul to chuckle. None of them noticed a petite figure dancing into the bakery on the arms of what some would describe as a walking behemoth of a man with black hair, green eyes and bulging muscles. Her blonde hair bounced as she made her way over to them. Behind them entered another man, lanky in frame with blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes. They blinked when a purse was sat firmly down at the end of the table.

It took the girls all of a minute to recognize the woman in front of them. Rosalie Hale- now McCarty- stood with a smirk on her red painted lips and arms crossed lightly over her generous chest. Bella was the first to stand and offer her a hug. Leah and Emily followed suit, squealing and giggling, while the men all shook their heads.

"I'm sorry I missed the trial- if you can even call it that. What a joke!" Rosalie told her when the squealing had subsided.

Bella shrugged. "It's ok Rosie. You were busy."

"No. I wasn't informed." She sniffed. "Lord knows I put that little pixie- sorry Jazz- in her place."

"It's alright. I just never thought someone could be… well like that." He said with a shrug.

Bella waved her hand towards Rosalie's brother. "Hey Jazzy."

"I forgot you used to call him that." Rosalie said with a giggle.

Bella grinned. "Only to piss him off. That one was just to reminisce a little."

Jasper smirked. "One free pass for old times sake." He agreed.

"So, guys, let me introduce you to my husband. Bella already knew him, though she never told me." Rosalie huffed. "But, this is Emmett. Emmett, this is Leah and her cousin Emily."

Emmett grinned and waved. "Hey." It was all he offered.

Leah grinned. "Well, this is my Paul. And sitting across from Emily is her husband Sam. This here is Jared. He and Bella were just married a few months ago." She teased.

Rosalie shook her head. "Wasted no time huh." She quipped.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I blame antibiotics and birth control." She huffed.

"Bella! Come on, I thought we talked about that when it happened to Lauren in high school!" She snickered.

Bella chuckled. "It's been a few years since high school Rosie. But I think we'll be fine."

"Well I don't!" Rosalie grinned when the rest inhaled quietly.

Bella eyed her warily. "No?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope." She agreed popping the p. "I KNOW you'll be just fine." She grinned when her friends relaxed.

Bella hugged her again. "I wish you were closer. I miss you!"

"Oh, Bella! I miss you guys too! I wish we were closer as well, but we can always visit! And, now that I have your number…" She paused to give her a pointed look, "We can keep in touch a little easier."

Bella blushed and looked down sheepishly. "I promise. I'll call you once a week. Does that make up for it?" She teased.

"It's a start." She quipped.

The group broke down into laughter. Promises were made for them to keep in touch. Rosalie would be leaving with Emmett to go home soon, and Jasper was following her too. He had his own life to get back into the swing of, feeling more free that he had in months. It showed on his face, and Bella couldn't be more happy for all of them.

None of them noticed another petite woman standing on the opposite side of the street, staring at them through the glass windows. Alice Cullen had been livid when she learned that Bella had married Jared. But now, seeing them all together, she only wondered just what she had done so wrong. It still hadn't hit her that she had lost not only her cousin, but her boyfriend and her best friend all because she had been too selfish and condescending to think about just how other people perceived her.

_ "If you see me on the street again Alice, just walk the other way. I don't want anything more to do with you or your parents OR your brother. So just… please… just please leave me alone." _

Those had been some of the most painful words for Alice to hear from Bella. But she had been right. Alice saw it now. Bella was happy- at peace even. She was married, had a career, had a family who loved her, and now she was going to become a mother. Somehow, she had been right. Alice said a silent prayer, hoping that things stayed this happy for Bella. She would do what had been requested of her, she'd stay away. And once her brother was released, she'd make sure he stayed away too.


	18. Chapter 17

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**Chapter 17**

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(**April- 2 weeks until due date**)

Bella sighed and she leaned back against the plush cushions of her uncles worn but oh so very comfortable couch. Her back twinged yet again causing her to shift around and close her eyes until it passed. The water bottle and heating pad she had been using worked for a short time, but now she was starting to feel the pain even more than if she hadn't used them at all. It had been like that all day long starting very early in the morning. Her back ached, her stomach was tight and she felt considerably nauseous. If not for her being the size of a whale and already pregnant with twins, she'd almost believe she was due to start her period.

She sighed and looked at the calendar again, wishing her due date was here already. She grumbled under her breath about stubborn children causing her uncle to chuckle- which earned him a menacing glare that he tried very hard to ignore (pregnant women were scary when they were angry). She had been on bed rest for the last two weeks and had hated every moment of it. When she wasn't in bed, she had to be sitting down with her feet up. It all came about at the last check up. They had taken her vitals and right away Jared knew something was wrong; the look on the nurses face said it all.

They had come into the room again ten minutes later- just to recheck- and taken her blood pressure another time. It was fifteen minutes after that when her doctor came in and told her that her blood pressure was dangerously high and she was being ordered to go home and under no uncertain terms relax for the rest of the day.

She had gone back the next day and it was the same thing. After calling an ambulance to transport her to the hospital, she was admitted into a room and was monitored closely as they pushed drugs into her- at low doses so as not to harm the twins- until her blood pressure dropped. Her family was made aware and upon finding out that Bella had a nurse practitioner who was as good as an aunt to her, she was moved to La Push and put on strict bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. Billy had volunteered to house her, seeing as he was disabled and Sue came daily to check on him now that Jacob was busy with work and school.

"It'll be alright Bella. Sue will be here soon to take you to your appointment." Billy soothed his nieces frazzled nerves. He had been watching her frown as she got lost in her thoughts.

Bella smiled tiredly. "I know. I know, uncle Billy. I just hate it. All the problems… I can't help but ask why sometimes." She grimaced as she moved herself into a more comfortable position. She hissed when her back spasmed and her stomach got tight for a moment.

"The spirits never give us more than we can handle sweetheart. You're a strong woman. And your soul is gentle. Any lesser woman would have succumbed by now, yet you've endured." He pointed out to her. He watched her in concern for a brief moment, only to relax when she let out a sigh and shifted her weight around so she could sit more comfortably.

Bella smiled at that. She giggled when one of the twins began kicking. Billy watched in amusement. It had fascinated him when he'd seen it with Sarah, and now to see it again with his niece- it would never get old. He couldn't wait to meet her twins. Somehow he just knew they were going to be a complete handful. He couldn't wait for it.

"Here, feel it. They're fighting again." She said placing his hand over her belly. She grinned at his goofy smile when they yet again began to kick and move in her belly.

They were broken from their bubble of happiness by a knock on the screen door seconds before Jared walked in. He grinned at Billy and swooped down to kiss Bella on the cheek. "Hey you two. Why's it so quiet in here?" He wondered.

"We were just talking. I got tired of watching stupid soap operas. All of them are the same- all over dramatic love triangles, he said- she said petty fights and back stabbing with some secret love children thrown into the mix." Bella shuddered.

Billy and Jared roared with laughter. "That's my woman." Jared teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "How'd work go?" She wondered.

"Leah and Emily had a field day with Kim today." He said casually.

Billy and Bella leveled him with the same arched eyebrow and expectant stare. He shook his head in amusement- She was definitely a member of the Black family. "She came into the shop again today. She wanted to see me. I refused and went into the back to get away from her. That woman is a walking soap opera personified- so Sam said."

Bella chuckled. "She's lucky I'm on bed rest. I'd give her a piece of my mind too." She huffed.

"Explain to me how one of my god daughters has anything to do with this? I was told that your ex was run off, does she not understand the words, 'married man'?" Billy wondered.

Jared smirked. "Leah and Emily were visiting the shop. They brought us lunch. When they saw me stomping back into the back they assumed it was just a customer who was ignoring the wedding band- it happens sometimes with us. I told them _she_ was up front and they went ballistic." He told them.

Bella shook her head with a pout. "I missed it too." She sighed.

They were interrupted by boisterous laughter as their friends walked in the door, all of them led by Jacob. Billy leveled them with a glare and turned back to Jared and Bella. He rolled his eyes when Bella grinned. "They'll never learn to enter a house quietly." He sighed playfully.

Bella giggled and leaned her head on Jared's shoulder. "They've only just left home Uncle Billy. Wait till they're living with women of their own. That will teach them."

Quil snorted. "Yeah, sure Bells. There's not a woman alive that would tame these guys."

"So you're tamed then are you?" Embry teased.

Bella arched an eyebrow and immediately all three of them sat down quietly. Jared snickered and Billy simply grinned. Jacob rolled his eyes. "The twins aren't even HERE yet and you've perfected the 'mommy stare' Bella. Damn what do you do, stare at a mirror all day long?!"

"Tease all you want, Jacob Ephraim Black, but just so you know, you're clothes are cleaned AND folded. If you want to have a nice cousin who does those kinds of things for you, you'll stop teasing her now." Bella grinned.

Jacob's eyes widened. "Really?! Bella you're amazing!"

"Damn Bella. That's not cool!" Quil whined.

Jared laughed. "I'm sure she washed your work clothes too guys." He teased.

"Oh I did. They're in Jake's old room with his clothes too. I figured I'd be nice. Besides, there's only so many books I can read, and only so much TV I can watch. So long as I sort them first, Billy puts the clothes in the washer and dryer for me as well as the detergent." Bella grinned.

Jared huffed. "Baby… what happened to bed rest?" He asked, only slightly teasing.

"I got bored. Besides, I'm fine! I need to get up and walk around a little or I can get bed sores. Sue even said it would be ok for me to do laundry so long as I was sitting down to do it. You can ask uncle Billy, I was!"

Billy held his hands up in a surrender motion. "Nuh uh! I learned not to argue with pregnant women a long time ago! ESPECIALLY the woman is in the Black family." He shuddered.

A knock on the screen door alerted their attention to Sue as she stepped through into the house. She smiled and kissed the crown of Bella's head. "Sorry I'm late sweetheart."

"It's alright Sue. I was just visiting with these nerds." She teased pointing to her friends and Jared as well.

"HEY!" Jacob, Embry, Quil and Jared pouted.

Sue shook her head and took a seat next to Bella. "Yes, well, let's hope they didn't get you too excited today. I don't want another earful from your doctors again. You've given everyone quite the scare missy." She scolded playfully.

"SEE! Baby… its called bed rest so you DON'T scare us!" Jared teased.

Sue glared. "What did you do today?"

"Not too much. I did laundry. Um… I got up to make a sandwich for myself. The twins didn't let me keep too much down. I've had an upset stomach for a while now." Bella admitted with a sheepish smile.

Sue shook her head and sighed. "Stubborn as the day is long. Alright. Let me check you out before going to the doctors. I don't want them to think you haven't been taking care of yourself. Let me see your arm sweetie." She said before placing her blood pressure cuff around Bella's arm.

Jacob watched and noted the worried look in Sue's eyes. Sometimes he really hated how hard Bella had had it. Other times, as he watched Jared gently calming her, easing away her fears he couldn't help but think how much stronger she had become. He waited on baited breath for Sue to let her know if there were any problems today.

Sue smiled. "It looks good. It's a little high, but I think that's from the excitement of having friends around. How do you feel otherwise?"

Bella shrugged. "I'm achy in my back, but I was told that happens with twins. That and my stomach was cramping kind of bad earlier." She huffed.

"Boys, out of the room. I need to check her." Sue ordered.

Quil and Embry arched their eyebrows. "Huh?" They asked.

"She's gonna stick her fingers up my hoo-hah to see if I'm dilated or not you idiots." Bella snapped.

Jared and Jacob snickered and dragged their now blushing friends from the room. Sue shook her head. "Alright sweetie. How long have you been feeling cramps?"

"All day? If I moved a certain way it hurt more." She said.

Sue frowned. "Were they constant? Or did they come and go? Are you sure they weren't contractions?" She wondered.

"I don't think they were contractions, but they didn't bug me too bad so I didn't time them. I just moved into a different position and ignored it." She said honestly.

Sue sighed. "That's not good Bella. You should have said something if it bugged you."

"Um… before you check me, can I go to the bathroom? You pushing on my stomach like that has **them** pushing on my bladder!" Bella whined.

Her pout had Sue chuckling. "Of course. Come on, I'll help you up." She said helping Bella raise up.

"Oh I'll be so glad when I don't feel like a beached whale anymore!" Bella huffed as she slowly made her way down the hallway. She had gotten all of ten steps before she felt a gush of liquid run down her legs. Her face turned beet red as she looked at Sue. "Um…I…." Another gush of liquid was followed by an intense and immediate jolt of searing pain that licked its way up her spine and had her crying out, clinging desperately to Sue.

"Oh… oh sweetie, ok. It's alright. I think your water just broke honey. I'm sure now that you've been having contractions all day long. How you ignored the pain is beyond me." Sue gently admonished. "Come on, back to your bedroom. I need to check you. Jared!"

Jared nearly slipped in the mess in the hallway. Shock registered on his face when he saw Sue helping Bella to her bed. "Sue… what… is she alright!?"

"Jared, I need you to listen. Bella's water just broke. I'm going to time the contractions now. If it's still early enough I'm going to put her in the car and take her to the tribal clinic. If not, I'm going to need your help. Do you understand?" Sue questioned sternly.

Suddenly the mild pain that had been nipping at the back of her mind was a full and intense bite to her nerves that she couldn't ignore anymore. Bella whimpered as another contraction hit, clinging to Sue while the woman rocked her and coaxed her to breathe through it. When it was over, Sue and Jared helped her move back into her make shift bedroom and got her back on the bed. In all the commotion, they didn't see their friends' concerned faces floating into the doorway of the room.

"Alright sweetie, this may be a little odd, you'll feel a little pressure but I need to see how close you are to having those beautiful babies of yours." Sue cooed.

Jared waved Jacob, Embry and Quil out of the room. He explained what was going on and then turned to look at Sue. She frowned and turned to him. "I don't want to move her. She's only got another hour or so before she can push- roughly. How she ignored the pains of labor I'll never know, but she's been at it all day now. These babies are going to be here within an hour or two. Get me clean towels, a bowl of warm water, rubbing alcohol and a blanket. Billy, call Charlie." Sue yelled.

Bella whined when Jared left. "I'm scared. I don't want to do this. I can't do this." She hissed. "I'm not ready for this!"

Sue grinned. "I'm sure you'll do great sweetheart. Just breath through the pain. It only hurts more because the water is broke and you know what's going on now. You'll be alright!"

Jared and Jacob came back into the room with the things Sue needed and set them down close to the bed. Before Jacob could leave, Bella caught his hand. "Call my mom? Please. And Leah and Emily."

"Sure Bells. It'll be alright. I'll keep everyone outside ok?" Jacob promised. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you little- big cousin. Hurry and let me see those gorgeous kids, ok?"

Bella's smile quickly faded as a particularly hard contraction hit. Her back arched off the bed and Jacob paled at seeing his cousin in that much pain. He looked to Jared who was sliding in to sit behind Bella and shook his head. He didn't envy the man in that moment. He wondered where he got the strength from to sit and watch his wife go through the torture she was enduring. The door was closed behind him and he shuddered when he heard Bella cry out again.

Quil was pacing the floor when he saw Jacob come into the living room, still pale and looking scared. "Is she ok? Why is she screaming so much? I thought Sue gave her pain medicine."

"Sue said the babies are gonna be here in a couple hours. She doesn't wanna move Bells. We need to call everyone." He replied. "She's doing ok for now. Bella is doing this without medicine- Sue said there was no time. And I really don't envy Jared. The look on Bella's face made ME want to pass out." He shuddered.

Billy nodded. He remembered that look all too well. "You call Charlie. I'll handle my sister." He instructed, effectively changing the subject. They all shuddered when they heard Bella scream. If not for the fact they knew what was going on, they'd think she was being tortured.

"Man, I hope I never have kids. I can't imagine my future wife going through all that. It sounds like she's killing herself." Embry quipped.

Billy chuckled and turned to him. "Yes, but, then you'd miss the feeling of holding a newborn child in your arms for the very first time as well as seeing your child along every other milestone life has to offer. All women go through it. It's a part of life. The pain makes them stronger. And Bella is the strongest woman I know." He told them before Renee picked up and he told her what was happening.

It was an hour later when the final scream of pain echoed through Billy Black's now crowded home. Bella's friends and family- minus her mother and step father who were flying in within the week- were there waiting to meet the twins. Jared had been in the back room with Bella for two hours now, and everyone was starting to get anxious. Sue left to check on the new family again, leaving everyone to talk quietly amongst themselves. The talking stopped at once when both Jared and Sue walked into the room, each one holding a small bundle in their arms.

Linda and Michael were the first people Jared stopped in front of. He grinned and placed his son in his dads arms. "Dad- grandpa- say hi to Tristan Declan Cameron. He was 7lbs, 11 oz and 23 in long."

Sue did the same to Charlie. "Say hello Savannah Grace Cameron, grandma. She was 7 lbs 5 oz 18 in long." She said gently.

"Tristan's tiny!" Quil mused.

Joy rolled her eyes. "He's a twin. All twins are born small, they have to share the space. Though I think if you had been a twin, you would have eaten your sibling out of house and home in the womb." She teased, smirking when he glared around a mouthful of cookie.

Paul chuckled and walked over to his friend. He clapped Jared on the back affectionately and gave him a nudge with his shoulder. He was glad that Sue had a lot of what she needed at the house already to take care of the babies. They watched as the twins were passed around to their friends and family after all hands were washed and sanitized to be admired by them as well.

"How's Bella?" He asked after a few minutes.

"She's resting. You can go say hi if you want. I'll bring the twins back in a minute or two." He grinned.

Paul nodded and headed back to see Bella. He knocked on the door and slipped quietly inside. "Hey sleeping beauty. Or should I call you momma now?" He teased lightly.

Bella smiled. "Paul. Hi. Come on in." She said patting the bed next to her leg. She giggled tiredly when Paul placed a kiss to her forehead.

"You did good Bella. The kids are beautiful. And I'm glad that it went alright." He said in a rush.

Bella held his hand. "Me too. I've had enough hospital visits to last a lifetime. Is everyone here?" She wondered.

"Just the usual suspects. Word got out that you were in labor. After that poor uncle Billy ran out of room. Tiffany, Joy and Linda started making food for all of us as soon as we all got here." Paul teased her.

"Leave it to you to think with your stomach." She teased. "Can you help me up? I want to go see them." She asked.

Paul bit his lip. "You sure? You DID just give birth- with no medicine at that… to twins." He teased lightly.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. I had Jared help to change me before he left the room. Besides… don't you know anything about our culture. Native Women perfected the art of having a baby and walking again after only an hour." She laughed.

"Alright, alright. I know. I just worry." He told her. "Too many close calls." He admitted.

She smiled and leaned up to hug him. "But I'm still here. And I'm not leaving again if I can help it for a long time." She promised.

With that in mind, the two made their way into the living room. Bella was fussed over by the women in the house and made to sit in the recliner to rest while food was passed around. She merely asked for some water stating that her stomach might reject the food at the present time when food was offered to her. Everyone nodded in understanding and Sue took the time to recheck her vitals again for the post partum notes.

Jared sat beside her with their daughter in his arms, a bottle already to her lips. They had decided early on that Bella would pump what she could and supplement with formula so the twins would get enough to eat. Her brother was being passed around from person to person so all their friends and family could see the newest member of the tribe. Jared was just a little overprotective of his baby girl already- something Bella found endearingly sweet.

"I'm so proud of you baby girl. You did so good." Jared whispered in her ear.

Bella smiled tiredly, her head resting on Jared's arm as they peered down at their daughter. She was the perfect mix of the two with Jared's nose and ears and Bella's hair, eyes and lips. Paul slowly crossed the floor with his nephew held securely in his large arms. He sat gently on the unoccupied arm of the chair. While Savannah had her mothers lightly tanned skin, Tristan took after his father- his skin a gorgeous caramel tone. The rest of his features- save for his hair and eyes- were that of Jared as well.

"Dude, Jared got cloned." Embry teased when he saw them all sitting together.

Quil tilted his head to the side. "Yeah… poor kid. At least he got his mom's hair and eyes." He teased.

"Funny… real funny." Jared pouted.

Bella giggled. "They're both gorgeous. And I'll not have you teasing my children you two. There are enough men in this room SOMEONE will hit you for me, of that I'm sure." she smiled sweetly as they both paled.

Loud laughter filled the room at her admission as well as shouts of 'I'll do it' and 'sure Bella, no problem' and one from Sam that said simply 'not a problem Bells.'

Charlie walked up and kissed Bella on the forehead. "You did amazing princess. They're the best part of both of you." He told her before clapping Jared on the back gently. He stood and cleared his throat. "Ok, so I know I don't technically have to do this, but I'm going to say it anyways. Bella, Jared, you two may not have been married for years before starting a family, but I've seen you two together. Cherish the moments with your little hellions. Time goes by too quickly and before you know it, they'll be getting married and having kids of their own. They're amazing, and those two are going to be the center of your world now. Congratulations. You two did good."

The room's occupants applauded quietly, murmurs of agreement spilling forth from parents lips. They spent a little more time talking and laughing, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere before Sue caught sight of Bella asleep in the chair. She smiled and brought it to the attention of everyone present.

"Ok guys. As fun as it's been, I think we need to give the new mom some time with her family. Let her get some sleep. She's going to need it." Charlie told them quietly.

It took another fifteen minutes before Jared had Bella laying in bed with the twins in the basinet that Charlie had brought over beside them. Sue had made them an appointment at the hospital in the morning so the babies could get their shots and vitals and all recommended tests could be completed. He smiled down at Bella and pulled her lightly against him, mindful that she may be slightly sore. With a kiss goodnight he laid his head on the pillow willing sleep to come, knowing in as little as two or three hours they'd both be up again to start the routine of feeding and changing the twins- a routine that would continue for the foreseeable future.


	19. Epilogue

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Epilogue

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(**June**)

Bella sighed and watched two of her kids and a few of their friends lounging on the back deck of her two story cabin. The twins were both 17 now and had just graduated with honors from La Push High School. Savannah had a full scholarship to Seattle University to earn a degree in teaching- just like her mom. Tristan was going with Wyatt to the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Oregon with a full scholarship as well. She smiled and shook her head thinking of all the memories she had gained over the years and had to once again thank the spirits for seemingly pushing them to move closer to home.

She and Jared had moved back to the reservation when her twins had turned three to be closer to family. It was during the move that Bella fell ill with what she assumed was a stomach virus picked up from her class. They found out Bella was pregnant again and there were complications. From the very beginning, her iron was almost dangerously low for her and her blood pressure was slightly high.

Jared, Paul and Sam talked about it and came to the decision that a second shop would be opened and run by Paul and Jared during the week while Sam ran their shop in Port Angeles with the help of the new artist- Amberlie- he had hired. Emily had taken one look at the girl and fallen in love with her. She fitted herself into their small group with ease and even began to bring her girlfriend around to meet them after a month or two.

When she learned from Carlisle through an email that Edward was being released early for good behavior, Bella had a small panic attack. Jared, Paul and Sam had come home after work to see her passed out cold on the kitchen floor with the twins in tears beside her. Sue monitored her closely after that. After only two scares, she was placed on bed rest.

When the time came for her to deliver- a month and a half early- the doctor had to threaten to give her an emergency C section. She was tiring too quickly and almost didn't have the strength to deliver. It made her mad enough to push a final time and then her baby- her son- was born but not ok. In all the commotion of delivery, his umbilical cord had been slowly tightening around his neck. While Jared consoled a fearful Bella, the doctor and nurses worked relentlessly and after two dreadful minutes, Landon Michael Cameron took his first breath.

Bella made the choice then and there to have her tubes tied to prevent another pregnancy. Somehow she knew if she was to become pregnant again, something would happen to make her lose the baby. She didn't want to risk the heartache. Jared supported her and spent every waking moment not at the shop helping her raise the kids. He showed her his commitment yet again and had her falling in love with him that much more.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist breaking her from her thoughts. She smiled when she felt a soft pair of lips kissing a light trail from her shoulder to her neck. She tilted her head to the side and placed her hands over his, leaning back into his embrace.

"Hi baby." She purred. "Dinner is almost ready."

Jared hummed and nipped at her neck- the sensitive spot just below her ear- and grinned when he heard the unmistakable sound of his oldest child groan while his friends laughed at his expense. "Your son's home." He whispered.

"I know." Bella grinned and pulled his lips to hers in a kiss, pretending as though she hadn't heard Tristan and his friends come into the kitchen.

"Mooooooom! Please! Do you HAVE to do that here?!" Tristan whined. His two best friends, Levi Uley and Wyatt Young were standing behind him, biting their lips to keep from laughing.

"Hello boys." She grinned when Jared rolled his eyes.

"Hi Mrs. C!" They chimed in unison.

"Do your parents know you're here, Levi?" Jared asked with a raised eyebrow.

Levi smirked. "I told dad I would be either here or with Wyatt. But I'm here with Wyatt now!"

Bella threw a dish towel in Levi's face. "Smart mouth. Go on before I tell your mother just who I caught you kissing the other day in the hallways."

"Yes ma'am!" Levi practically shouted before running out the back door.

Bella let loose a soft bray of laughter and shook her head. "Some things will never change."

"You teaching high school kids did though." Jared pouted. "I seem to recall you once saying '_teenagers are too obnoxious. Especially boys who think they're grown and end up doing nothing but act foolish in front of the female population_' whatever happened to that huh?"

Bella grinned. "The high school was offering more, and they needed an English teacher. Besides, look at it this way… no one has dared to mess with Savannah."

"Ok, so those are all good points. But now I have more competition." He whined.

Bella giggled. "Not at all. You still have my undivided attention. _Os meum es aeternum_, remember?"

Jared grinned and pressed his lips to hers again. "Of course I do." He whispered in between kisses causing her to giggle.

"Moooom! Really?!" Tristan huffed when he saw them.

Jared grinned. "Keep it up boy. I'll ground you until you leave for college in the fall." He warned while trying to hold back his laughter.

Bella rolled her eyes. "You'll do no such thing. Now, Tristan, go outside with your friends and you, oh love of my life, need to go get cleaned up." She said while pointing a finger in his face.

He smirked and pretended to bite her finger causing her to shake her head and smile sweetly at him. With one last soft kiss to her lips he was heading up the stairs to their room. "Love you!" He called over his shoulder.

"Love you more!"

"Ugh! Parents." Tristan huffed and walked back out to his friends with his arms full of sodas.

Within two more hours, the living room was full of bodies. It had been this way one weekend a month since the kids were small. Sam and Emily had sent their twins, Levi and Brianna in order to have some down time to themselves. Paul had all but dropped his kids off and run. Bella didn't blame him; Danielle and Makenzii were a handful, but with Aaron in the middle of the mischief- or at the front of it and blaming his big sisters- things were bound to be chaotic.

Her eyes moved to Aiden and Sara. Jacobs kids were the spitting image of him. Bella grinned at that. She had just said 'I told you so' when his daughter had been born. She had her dad's assertive attitude and her mom's quick wit- a dangerous combination as Jake made sure to whine about it every chance he got. While Aiden looked like a mirror image of him, he was his mother's son through and through in temper. It was only Bella that he never had the guts to yell at- and Leah of course.

Cheyenne and Hope were another story all together. Out of all the twins in the room, it was those two who were the most devious and crafty. Embry had definitely been cursed for all the pranks he'd played on her when they were younger. His son Carson was even known to pull a prank or two on his sisters and thus start a prank war that Embry would have to end- with a prank of his own on all of them. She had to chuckle at how innocent they looked in sleep.

Bella leaned over the back of the couch where Gracen was curled up. Quil's wife had given him his father's name, but he went by his middle name so as not to confuse anyone; he also took almost completely after his mother. Their daughter Ashleigh was the spitting image of Quil, and just as cocky. Quil and Claire joked all the time that the spirits were a little mixed up when they decided to clone them, but all in all, they were blessed.

Ashleigh was now curled up beside her best friend- Aiden. They reminded everyone of Jacob and Bella and it was widely joked about on the reservation that Quil and Jacob would end up as family when they were old enough to marry. They were almost close enough to touch- if one of them shifted just an inch more, they'd be shoulder to shoulder.

Jared's snickers caught her attention. She turned and arched an eyebrow at him, noticing him staring at Ashleigh and Aiden as well. "Jake and Quil would kill each other if they were ever to become in laws… somehow I can see it happening though."

"Hush! You'll wake the kids up." She teased hitting him playfully on the chest. She was fighting back her own bout of giggles at the mental images his words conjured though.

He easily caught her hand and pulled her up the stairs, down the hallway and into their bedroom. He watched her change before dragging her to him on the mattress. A grin spread itself onto his lips when he caught her fingers tracing over the tattoo on his neck. Her name had been branded into his skin by Paul a week after they had gotten married. His neck sported Bella's name, but his chest- the places closest to his heart not yet covered- were for his children.

"I love you Jay." She said before kissing his neck right over her name.

Jared grinned. "I was hooked on you from the day we first met. I fell in love with you the day we had our first heart to heart in your apartment after the whole Kim fiasco, and I've seen no one else but you since you became my woman." He told her honestly.

"Aww! Baby!" She smiled and moved to kiss him. "You're too good to me."

Jared smiled at her and moved a strand of her graying hair from her face. "It's you who is too good to me little B." Bella smiled and laid her cheek over his heart.

She and Jared were woken up from their sleep in the morning by loud squeals of laughter and groans from the kids downstairs. They smiled and laid in bed just listening to the chaos in their house. Jared chuckled and pulled her closer to him.

"They'll be in here before you know it." Bella mused.

Jared grinned. "I know how to get them out though." He crooned.

"Are you going to share the secret or do I have to tickle it out of you?" Bella teased moving her fingers down his bare sides.

She laughed when he pinned her hands to the bed. "Nope. No tickling. I'll share everything with you that you ask me to." He quipped.

A knock on their door had Jared grinning. Just as the door opened he leaned down and kissed Bella fully on her slightly parted lips. They broke apart minutes later when they heard twin groans from their boys. Savannah must have sent them to wake their parents up.

"Mom! Dad… Savannah said breakfast is finished. Can you PLEASE stop sucking face now?!" Tristan huffed.

Jared smirked. "I don't know. Would you rather us do it in the kitchen?"

"NO! Please no!" Landon whined. Anything else he was going to say was stopped by the chiming of a doorbell.

Bella shook her head. "Go let everyone in boys. We'll be down after we get dressed."

"Yes ma'am." They both muttered. Bella laughed when she heard them explaining just what they had walked in on.

"We probably could you know." Jared said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Bella smacked his arm half heartedly. "Not a chance Casanova. Not with a houseful of people!" She huffed.

"Alright. Alright. I'll give you that. Even if they ARE only our friends." He teased her.

"Oh go on and go say hi!" She insisted before playfully shoving him off of her in order to get up and get dressed.

She pulled the shirt from her body and turned to see Jared standing in the doorway staring at her. It still made her blush at times to see the look of hunger dancing in his eyes. They'd been through so many things. Her body was still riddled in tattoos, and her stomach was still pierced, but over all, she'd not changed too drastically.

With a flirtatious wink, Jared sauntered out of the door, a grin on his lips. She shook her head and giggled with amusement when she heard him start barking orders at the kids in the house. She took another five minutes before she joined her friends in the living room. Looking at them all now, she couldn't help thank that she had been pretty blessed.

She grinned when she saw Amberlie sitting on the arm of the chair near Savannah. She had missed the twins graduation and had asked Bella to give them a kiss and a hug for her. On the opposite side of her was Amberlie's wife, Tiffany.

"Hey you two! Sam didn't say you'd be here today." Bella said kissing each of them on the cheek.

"We called him last night. The shops are both closed today so we asked if we could come tell the twins congrats." Tiffany grinned.

"Well, I'm sure they're happy." Bella said looking to her widely smiling daughter.

Amberlie laughed. "Oh yeah. I had to promise to look at Savannah's graduation speech later on! I still can't get over how much time has gone by. They were just 3 years old yesterday!" She said wiping a fake tear from her eyes.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "We grew up, Amberlie."

"But you're still my baby!" Bella grinned causing his friends to snicker.

"Daaaaaaaad! Please?!" Tristan whined looking to Jared for help.

Jared shook his head and held his hands up, the same as Paul and Sam. "Nuh uh. You're on your own, boy. We all know better. Mom's and sons don't get messed with. Same way no one is gonna mess with 'Vannah."

It was Savannah's turn to blush and hide her face. "Thanks daddy." She muttered.

Jared grinned and winked at a now smirking Tristan. They all laughed heartily when Bella poked his still ticklish ribs causing him to jump. A shiver raced over his spine and he danced away from her prodding fingers, opting to move closer to Sam and Paul to hide.

It was Bella's turn to smirk. "That's what I thought." She said with a nod.

"Well then. We know who wears that pants in THAT relationship." Sam mused. He stopped laughing abruptly when Emily crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow menacingly.

Paul bit his lip, trying not to laugh. He knew the women in his life would band together quick as lightning if they thought someone was messing with one of them. It didn't matter if it was family or not. If one was being messed with, all five of them were being messed with. He had brushed off the authority that Amberlie and Tiffany held in his life until he was on the tail end of one of the girls' lectures.

Bella merely sighed. "At least Leah has her man trained." She teased.

Paul glared and rolled his eyes. "I just know better than to mess with one of you while the others are around. At least one on one it takes a while to be reprimanded. But together, you girls are like a pack of wolves." He said with a shudder.

"You'll survive." Leah said with a shrug.

"I have so far." Paul said with a grin.

"We all have." Bella smiled.

Jared couldn't agree more. They had survived so many ups and downs along the way. Now that they were finally heading into the next chapter of their lives, he couldn't be more pleased with how things had turned out. He was grateful that he took his grandmother's advice. He waited, he listened and now the woman of his dreams was finally his to call his own until their last breath was drawn.


End file.
